


Enter the Rift

by KitKateC



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alien Biology, Body Modification, Gen, Original Character(s), Post-Apocalypse, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:15:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 35,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27127775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitKateC/pseuds/KitKateC
Summary: It has been three hundred years since humanity attempted interdimensional travel; three hundred years since the project went horribly wrong and a permanent rift was ripped open between another dimension and our own. Having fallen to the savage and staggering force of the MPs -- formless, ravenous blobs that feed on sentient life forms -- humanity has lived on within the hastily-erected walls of Atlas, humanity's final refuge. Society has changed to fit the needs of the human species, placing stock in a new system of Heirarchy that keeps the city grounded and goal-focused. Yona Smith is a Laborer at the very bottom of the food chain, tasked with the upkeep of the Wall -- Atlas' only barrier between humans and the MPs. One day her peaceful life is ripped away along with any illusions of safety.All is not well within Atlas: the higher up suck precious resources dry while those lower toil unknowingly, and the MPs are getting...smarter.Unforseen catastrophe is on the horizon, and Yona finds herself in a position she never would have imagined.This work is also available to read on Royal Road under the username Grimzee1233!
Comments: 17
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for clicking on this original work! Enter the Rift is a project I started earlier this year and I hope to update it alongside my Boku no Hero Academia stories until they are complete! As of now this story is a little over one-hundred pages long, and depending on how it is received I will update it on a weekly basis until I'm out of content. If you're here from WAFD, thank you so much for giving Enter the Rift a chance. If you just happened to find this, thank you as well 😊 
> 
> Please, enjoy the story and do NOT share to any other website. If I find any of Enter the Rift's content online I will delete this immediately; I want to publish this one day, after all. 
> 
> And constructive criticism or comments is greatly appreciated! Enjoy~

The forest came alive at night with the sounds and smells of an alien, primordial world. Intermingling with the familiar flora of oak and pine trees were plants of enormous stature, with fanning purple leaves and thick blue vines. Tufts of tall grass sprouted between gnarled roots that gave way to soft, spongy moss the color of bone that blanketed the forest floor. Hidden by lush foliage and prickly shrubs, animals went about their business; finding food to assure they live another night.

Caws and calls and the chittering vibrato of insects filled the humid summer night air. It was almost relaxing, tranquil, even--if not for feeling of dread that saturated the forest.

Allysa shook her head to clear her mind. She should not be lulled into a false sense of security, certainly not in the depths of Macrophage territory. She shrugged, shifting the weight of the large blaster strapped across her back. The young woman had not needed to withdraw her weapon so far tonight, but the heavy form pressed into her shoulder blades reminded her of the danger that they were in. The Primal Forest was beautiful, yes, but it was home to the most dangerous creature known to man. 

She furrowed her brow and absently clutched the strap tightly.

“You look tense, Grey,” a heavy hand swatted her across the back, startling her out of her thoughts. Hot breath breezed by her ear, “Loosen up a little, ‘else when the fun starts you’ll freeze like a deer in headlights.”

“What the hell, Russo? What if I’d screamed?” Allysa twisted around to glare at the looming figure crouched behind her. Mischievous orange eyes looked back at her. His lips curled into a downright predatory smile,

“Then the fun would have started sooner.”

“Russo, Grey,” an audibly pissed voice hissed back at them, “if you two do not shut up right now I will kill you both myself.” In response, her teammate snorted and Allysa mumbled a quick apology. Her other two teammates, Shaw and Blackman, threw her an apologetic glance. “Now. I have got Batty in position. We have got two MPs up ahead, both appear to be resting. Two meters apart. The closest one is one-hundred feet to the Southwest,” their leader slowly rose to stand as she spoke, “Grey, you should be able to get a good aim from that overhanging branch over there,” she tilted to head towards a nearby oak.

“Yes ma’am.” Allysa rose from her crouch and started over to the tree.

“Not _yet_ , rookie. Wait for the rest of my instructions. One misstep and we could lose this.”

Heat rose to Allysa’s cheeks and she stammered a weak “Of course, ma’am,” and crouched back down. She heard Russo chuckle meanly behind her and her face flushed hotter. What a jackass.

Her leader continued, “Take the one cloest to us. I will target the further hostile. We have one shot to get the element of surprise. It is possible to take them out in one shot, but not likely. Russo, you will engage as soon as the shots are fired. I trust you to be swift and effective. Blackman, Shaw, you know what to do once the fighting is over. Be ready to defend yourself if necessary. They will know you are there as soon as you step within range. Understood?” The woman arched an eyebrow.

“Yes ma’am, Commander Love” The four whispered back in unison.

“Alright, then. For the Glory of Atlas.”

“For the Glory of Atlas.”

As silently as they may, the five broke off into their respective positions. Allysa jogged quickly over to the oak tree. She paused to press her wrists together and the gloves on her hands extended sharp metallic claws. The girl then deftly climbed the large oak, claws digging and scouring the bark easy until she reached her position. She hefted herself up easily and slid forward, coming to rest on her belly against a large extended limb of the oak. 

In one fluid motion she unholstered her blaster and swung the large rifle forward, eyes automatically honing in on the scope. Her right hand came up to rest gently on the trigger. This is what she’d trained for. This is what she lived for. Hopefully tonight would be her first successful mission. 

Allysa took her eye from the scope and looked over to survey the others. From her perch, she could see clearly into the dark night sky. Far above, a smidge of blue against the star-spangled sky flew in a large circle. That was Batty, Love’s reconnaissance peeper. She looked over to her leader, who was observing something below. Allysa could see her eyes glowing a faint yellow, a tell-tale sign that the woman was using her telepathic connection with Batty to survey the situation from above. Once everyone was in position, Batty would let her know. Allysa glanced downward. Ah. That was what Love was looking at.

Russo was taking cover in the leafy bushes below, just out of range of the MP’s sensory radius. Even from here Allysa could see the disturbing smile plastered onto his angular face. His skin appeared to shift just beneath the surface, greys mixing with the tan of his complexion. Suddenly the skin on his left land seemed to liquify and rise from his hand, shifting, molding, and resolidifying as a dull grey blade that reached down lazily several feet past his waist. His other hand did the same. With gross fascination, Allysa watched as a long tapered tail sprouted from the base of his back, presumably for balance. His smile grew wider and his whole body tensed, a live wire ready to explode.

As Allysa watched the transformation she couldn’t help but think that the aura that radiated from his strance meant one thing and one thing only--

Danger. 

An involuntary shiver ran down her spine.

“You never get used to it, rookie,” Shaw’s gruff voice crackled into her comms. Allysa looked away to see Shaw kneeling at the base of her tree, “It’s freaky. Every damn time is freaky.”

“Well, Russo's _always_ freaky, so it’s not much different from normal.”

He laughed lightly in her ear.

“You’re just jealous, you Regs,” Russo responded.

“Whatever, Conduit.”

“You three, stop bickering,” Love’s harsh voice broke through the comms. Allysa flinched, “Batty says they haven’t moved. Russo, Grey, are you in position?”

“Yes ma’am,” they responded in unison.

“Good. Shaw, be on standby in case Russo needs healing--”

“--which I won’t--”

“--and Blackman, be ready to gather tissue. We have a ten-second window after they die to preserve living samples. If they die, we fail the mission. And team Love does _not_ fail. Commence operation on three.”

Allysa nodded to herself. Her first mission. She refused to fail.

“One.”

She focused her sights. A green MP, eighty feet away. She could just make out the darker green nucleus of the MP floating suspended in its globular body.

“Two.”

She held her breath. Body steady. Aim sure. The drone of the forest dimmed to a dull hum around her.

“Three.”

She pulled the trigger. A bright shot of blue flew from the blaster nozzle and a loud _crack_ rang out through the air.

The green MP shrieked in a terrible, wet gurgle and thrashed violently as one hundred volts of electricity zipped across its dull green body. A direct hit, but not good enough. Its newtonian form writhed and undulated violenly but it was not dead. 

Two yards away, Love’s target lay still, electricity still crackling across its bluish skin as it melted into a puddle of dead flesh. Blackman was already bounding from her hiding place, cryo-syringe ready to collect a sample. 

“Dammit.” Allysa reflexively reached forward and pulled a switch to reload the rifle. _Ka-chink._ A new electricity capsule slid into place and she took aim once more, but her finger lingered on the trigger as her earpiece crackled to life:

“Good shot, rookie. Don’t feel too bad, it takes a lot of experience to be able to take them down with one shot,” Love said, “Leave the rest to Russo. Sit back and watch what a trained Conduit is capable of.”

Allysa sighed, but took her finger off the trigger. She watched through her scope as a sudden explosion of movement from below her caught her eye. Russo.

The MP was still recovering from her shot when Russo slammed into it at forty miles an hour, sending it flying into a nearby tree. It gurgled, outraged. Faster than her eyes could track it shaped a club-like appendage from its green mass and swung blindly at Russo. He dodged effortlessly, tail flicking to maintain his balance. In one calculated motion his arms lunged forward and pierced the MP’s suspended nucleus, hitting home and pinning it to the tree. The MP made a last attempt to swing its club appendage forward, but the weapon lost shape halfway through the motion as the creature began to melt. 

“That was it? That was embarrassingly easy,” Russo whined and pulled his arm-blades free of the tree. He rolled his shoulders back and took a step away from the melting blob.

“No such thing, Russo. Good job,” said Blackman as she jogged over. She bent down and stuck a long-needled syringe into the melting goop. Thick green sludge from the rapidly decaying creature filed the device as she pulled back the plunger. Standing back up, she pressed a button on the side of the syringe and the vial froze over, “Samples secured. Nice job, team.” The woman unscrewed the vial and placed it gingerly in a pouch on her belt. 

“Rookie, you can come down now,” Love’s voice said in her ear. Right. Allysa’s body relaxed. She slung the blaster back across her shoulder and dropped down so that she dangled from the tree limb. Without hesitation, she released her grip and dropped to the carpeted forest floor ten feet below. The shock absorbers in her legs took the brunt of the force and she strode over to the small clearing where Russo and Blackman were. Far to her right she could see the shape of Love doing the same, and the footsteps of Shaw were just behind her. 

“Grey, fantastic aim. Blackman, great hustle out there,” Love practically beamed, completely throwing Allysa off. She had never once seen her commander smile since she was assigned to this exploration team a week ago. “And Russo, stellar job.” Love held out her arm and Batty swooped down from the sky to land on her glove, the large winged mammal’s talons biting into the tough leather, “Yes, you did a great job, too, Batty.” The peeper chirped appreciatively. 

“As always, ma’am,” Russo's skin crawled, absently shifting back to his humanoid form. _His smile is just as unsettling as ever,_ Allysa thought as she rolled her eyes. The cocky jerk. Though, based on his performance, he had a reason to be. Any praise she had for the older man left her thoughts when he turned to her with a smirk, though.

“Wasn’t I impressive out there, rookie? Thank god your shooting was off, otherwise you wouldn’t have gotten to see me in action.” He said, winking. Allysa bristled 

“Ugh. How're you so annoying?”

“How are _you_ so bad at aiming? The thing was sleeping, my grandma could’ve made that shot.”

Allysa turned bright red and was opening her mouth to retort when Love cut her off, “Enough of that, you two. You both did a fine job. I will not tolerate childish feuds in my group. Now, let’s head back to Atlas--and _quietly_ , might I insist, before you two attract all MPs within a mile radius.”

Russo scoffed and rolled his eyes, but said no more. Allysa fumed silently.

“Always so hard on the rookies, Russo,” Shaw teased, approaching the group, “without her, your job would have been significantly har--what is it?” Shaw tensed, as did the rest of the group. Allysa crouched into a defensive stance, though she was confused; what was wrong? She flinched involuntarily when she realized what was up.

Beside her Russo stood in a slight crouch, skin practically jumping from his body and rippling across his arms and back. 

“They’re here. At least five. My parasite is going crazy.”

Love practically snarled and the five of them circled up, “But how? You should have sensed them before they got so close.”

A wave of panic surged over Allysa. MP that could make it past a Conduit’s sense radius? That should be impossible. Were the previous MPs bait? They weren’t supposed to be able to coordinate attacks like that. Now they were out in the open and exposed. Allysa felt her heartbeat fluttering in her chest. Her throat was tight and her breath came rapidly.

“I-I’m not trained for this. I’m a Backline, I’m not equipped for close-ranged combat. This is my first mission, what're we supposed to--Ah!” she recoiled in pain as Russo’s tail slapped her across the face, leaving a stinging red welt.

“The battlefield is no time to panic, rookie. You have close range protocol, if only a little. If one of us freaks out we all die. Get your ass in gear,” he growled, muscles tensing. Russo was right, as much as she hated to admit it. She needed to get her act together. In emergency situations like this she was trained to use light pistols. Allysa reached down to her belt holster and withdrew two small blaster pistols. They weren’t powerful enough to kill an MP but they could do enough damage to slow them down. MPs without a Conduit were powerful, but lacked endurance. They were ambush predators, after all. 

She readied her blasters.

Around them, the young woman realized, the forest had taken on a deathly silence. Seconds ticked by. Allysa felt her heartbeat in her throat. 

Blackman broke the silence, “Russo, can you tell how close they ar--” her speech was cut short by a horrible thud as a long, club shaped appendage swung out of the foliage and made crushing contact with her head. Before Allysa could react, Blackman’s body hit the floor with a heavy thump. Allysa jumped when a heavy object hit her foot and screamed in abject horror when Blackman’s head looked up at her, completely rendered from its body.

“Blackman!--” Love’s voice tore through the clearing, followed by the sounds of blasters firing and Shaw swearing. Shrieks of the MPs rang out in the forest around them. Allysa couldn’t seem to stop screaming. She fell backwards onto her butt and scrambled backwards away from Blackman’s body as chaos erupted around her. 

Love had one MP stunned and gurgling madly. Another MP lunged at her but she deftly dodged its appendage, this one a sharp blade, as another MP entered the clearing. Batty flapped and shrieked from atop his perch on Love's shoulder before an appendage lashed out and disappeared the peeper into its sucking, globular flesh. Love cried out in anger and swirled to shoot it.

Shaw was attacking another MP with his pistols on the opposite side of the clearing.

“Yeaa, get some! There’s more where that came from!” He screamed, his careful aim juxtaposing the wild look in his eyes.

Russo stood at the forefront of the clearing, bladed arms swinging in a deadly dance, stabbing and slicing at three green MPs that had emerged from the surrounding forest. His smile was replaced with a look of grim determination as he defended against the MP’s crushing blows. One arm reshaped and hardened into a shield just as a club swung down and crashed into it, the impact pushing his heels down into the soft soil. Faster than her eyes could track, Russo’s bladed arm jabbed forward and pierced the MP’s nucleus; it slumped to the ground with a wet _plop._

Russo growled, “I _know_ I need to hit their nuclei. But it’s pretty damn HARD--” he brought his shield up again as another blow struck, then swung his right arm up 

and slashed one of the MP through its nucleus,” “--to do when there’s three of them! Shut up already!” He roared, a feral sound, just as one of the remaining MP threw its body at his shield. Russo’s right arm formed into a blunt hammer and brought it smashing down onto the creatures body.

“Damn, I’m good. Rookie!”

Allysa was still frozen on the ground, throat raw from screaming, but her mind was momentarily brought back into focus, “Y-yes?”

“Do you _want_ to die young? ‘Cuz I sure as hell don’t. Get your ass up and help us!” He looked back at her, eyes wild as he took the brunt force of another clubbing through his shield. Another one? Just how many were there?

“Y-Yes sir!” She said. She mentally berated herself for succumbing to her fear so easily. They could get through this, but only if they all did their part. She just needed a second to get a bearing on her surroundings--

_\--Gurgle._

“GREY! Behind you!” Shaw’s voice barely registered in her brain before he careened into her. Allysa landed hard, the wind knocked completely out of her. _Bang._ A pistol went off right by her ear. A high-pitched ringing went off as she struggled to make sense of her surroundings. She was shaken by the impact and disoriented by the noise. Allysa swung her head to the left. Love was mouthing the name ‘Shaw’ in a silent scream just as an MP overtook her and began to wrap itself around her body. She hit the floor noiselessly.

Allysa turned her head towards the front. A grey MP was latched onto Shaw. She cried his name, but even her own voice could not overcome the ringing in her ears. Allysa reached for her pistol to stun the creature before she realized the massive crater in Shaw’s chest from the blunt impact of the MP. His eyes were wide open and lifeless, mouth forming a perfect “O” as the MP seeped over his body and began dissolving him into its own flesh. Shaw was dead. Love was dead. Everything was falling apart.

Allysa was suddenly aware of a large figure obscuring her view. She threw her arms in front of her face and screamed. A strong hand latched onto her shoulder and shook violently. All at once her senses burst back, the cacophony of sounds around shocking her back to her senses. Russo was above her, left arm mangled and hanging loosely at his side.

“--dammit, I said _grab on,_ rookie _!”_ he shouted through gritted teeth.

Allysa blinked in surprise, “B-but Blackman. Shaw. Love. They’re all—” she couldn’t bear to say it out loud.

“I know that, but we will be too if you don’t shut your mouth and grab on! I won’t say it again,” he turned and crouched so that she could climb on. Biting back tears, Allysa stood and climbed onto Russo’s back, trying her best to ignore the awful smell of decaying MP, fresh blood, and the horrible slurping sounds of digestion as the MP dissolved her fallen comrades.

“Hold on tight,” she barely heard Russo’s words, but she locked her arms around his neck and across his chest and buried her nose into his back. With enhanced speed and strength, Russo propelled the two of them over the MP’s corpses and into the embrace of the forest at a break-neck speed.

As the sounds faded into the calm of the forest Allysa clutched Russo tighter and cried softly into his shoulder blades. She had failed. She had failed them all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's quite a lot to unpack within the universe of Into the Rift, so I'll be leaving some bits and pieces about the world of Atlas every chapter. Here's one to start you off:
> 
> Conduits  
> -Humans that, for unknown reasons, are unable to be consumed by MPs. Instead of being assimilated, the MPs adhere to their skin. When not in use, conduits appear as normal humans. When activated, their take on the hue of the parasite MPs and have the ability to manipulate the MPs in their skin to shape weapons and armor. The conduit seems to be mentally linked to their parasite MPs via a neural connection at the base of the brainstem. The MPs provides a rapid healing factor, advanced speed and strength, and the ability to sense other lifeforms in a thirty-foot radius. Some conduits may develop unique abilities dependent on unknown factors. It is theorized that this unique symbiosis is possible due to a resistance developed in some genomes not present in the MP's original dimension. Conduits are rare, and bred with other Conduits in order to pass down the resistance gene--though the children are not always Conduits themselves.


	2. Chapter 1

The Wall’s age was showing, and it was clear to anyone who looked at it hard enough. Of course, some ageing was to be expected of a structure that stood for three centuries and some change. That didn’t make the fact any less unnerving. Daily maintenance only meant so much in the face of increasing corrosion, and the city wasn’t exactly in the position to procure large amounts of metal. Year by year, as more and more damage accumulated, so did the rumors of an eventual breach into Atlas. Though the Seven saw to it that participating in such gossip crippled rations, a general unease had settled upon its citizens. Yona was no exception, especially considering she saw first-hand the condition of the Wall everyday.

It was late in the afternoon, and after an entire day’s work her assigned section for the day still needed glaring maintenance. She had spent most of the day burning vines off that had steadily crept their way up the giant structure; now she was welding exposed sheets of metal back together. The dark-haired woman dangled about fifty feet down the wall by her suspension cords, face screwed in a look of concentration beneath her welding mask.

“Yona! How’s your section of the Wall looking, teddy bear?”

Yona was welding along a particularly exposed seam of the Wall when she heard her father call. She rolled her eyes and tapped the activator on her welding glove. The focused laser erupting from her palm emitted a high-pitched whine as it powered down. Yona flipped up her mask. She straightened her legs and stood so that she was perpendicular to Wall’s smooth surface, cupped on hand around her mouth, and hollered back, “Almost done over here, dad! A few rough patches along this section today!” she pulled on her suspension gear to re-align herself but paused to consider.

“And stop calling me teddy bear!” Yona flipped the mask back over her face to hide the blush rapidly spreading through her face. She got enough fleck from the rest of the workers as it was. Along the Wall she could hear the unabashed laughs of the other laborers. She didn’t get paid enough for this. With her left hand she re-activated the glove and continued her work.

  
  
  
  


"One ration, please," Yona held out her wrist to the Laborer across the counter and he held out a scanner that checked for identification on the sub dermal implant. The handheld device beeped twice. The Laborer, a younger man with greasy blonde hair looked up at her.

"You have reached your maximum of rations for today, and you have a remaining balance of 256 credits. Would you want to purchase any additional sides?” Though he looked utterly disinterested, Yona offered him a smile and politely declined. 

“Alright them, ma’am. Here's your tray," he reached next to him on the counter and picked up a small plastic lunch tray. It had space for an entre, one side and a drink, "May the Seven thrive."

"And the Wall hold fast. Thank you."

Yona picked up the tray and slid it along the smooth counter towards the interior of the cafe. Ah, the higher ups had been generous today. Sitting in the heated food trays were a choice of portioned entrees: meatloaf or baked chicken. Further along the counter sat trays of steamed corn or sweet potatoes. Yona chose meatloaf and sweet potatoes. Beef and sweets were a rare luxury and she knew not to pass them up. After choosing her food, she grabbed a tin cup from a large stack at the end of the counter and filled it with water.

The Food Distribution Center was empty at this time of day, and through the great glass windows of the spacious building she could see that the sun had already begun to set. Her shift had lasted longer than expected today--her assigned section of the wall was badly damaged and it took far longer than she wanted to make the necessary repairs. 

Yona chewed her food thoughtfully. If she didn't get home soon, her dad would start to worry about her. All Laborers knew not to stay out for too long. Nighttime was for the Wastels and wayward Conduits. Yona picked an empty nearby table and made swift work of the small rations in front of her, not bothering to savor the rare treat. Tray in hand, she walked towards the exit and deposited the tray in a waste receptacle near the entrance. The walk home took thirty minutes, and the sun was just dipping below the horizon.

Once outside the automatic doors of the distribution center slid closed behind her. A strong wind cut through the humid air, carrying the acrid scent of fumes from the nearby weapons depot. Yona pulled the collar of her apron up around her nose and grimaced.

Fabric pressed closely to her nose in a clenched fist, the young woman began to walk home. 

By this time late in the afternoon the streets were mostly clear of Laborers, but the occasional late-workers like herself and younger teens who didn't care for danger wandered down the sidewalks. This time of the day was always strange; the transition state of golden hour when the streets that were usually bustling with people and transport vehicles were almost completely empty. During this time, when the angry red tear in the sky reflected off the mirrored glass of the enormous buildings and the sun hovered against the silhouette of the Wall, Atlas was a ghost town bereft of the hustle and bustle of citizens hard at work. But any citizen knew that as soon as the last rays of the sun winked out of existence over the horizon, the city became alive again with shimmering lights, stalls and lively music--but also Wastrels and danger. 

It was not prohibited to go out at night; no such curfew existed. As long as there was time to be wasted anyone could take part in Atlas nightlife. Most Laborers were too tired to take part or didn't want to get mixed up with Wastrels or unpredictable Conduits. Teens and adventurous younger Laborers often partook in the late-night activities, but once their accounts were low and their fun had, they would leave the scene. Yona was never one to stay out late, though; at twenty one she had yet to experience the streets or central plaza of Atlas at night and had no desire too. Who had time for excessiveness when there was so much work to be done?

Yona passed by tall, ageing skyscrapers and apartment buildings that lined the narrow streets as she walked. Already Wastrels were wandering out of alleyways and old apartment buildings to prepare for the coming night. One tall, brunette man wearing jeans and a dirty white tank top whistled as Yona walked by: she picked up her pace.

"Stupid assignment," she muttered under her breath. The extra hours working on the wall may pay more rations but it was hardly worth getting caught out late.

Yona reached the end of the block and turned right down a road that led to a series of five story apartment buildings. Unlike the tall skyscrapers made of glass and steel that housed the higher-ups, the Laborer's neighborhoods were made of faded red brick. 

She passed by the first three buildings and turned at the fourth. A small metal panel was to the left of two framed glass doors. Yona held her wrist up to the panel and the computer beeped twice, and the glass doors slid open to accept her. They slid closed with a light "clack" after she stepped through. A quick glance around the small lobby reaffirmed that yes, the elevator was still broken, and with a huff Yona began her climb to the fifth floor up the stairs. At the top of the stairs was along, dimly lit blue hallway lined with doors. Her apartment was the first on the left. Another small metal panel sat next to her door, and after quickly scanning her wrist the metal door swung inward to receive her.

Yona walked through and untied her apron before hanging it on a rack by the wall. A voice from inside the apartment called out to her.

"Yona, Teddy Bear, you're home! Sure took you long enough."

Yona rolled her eyes as she took off her work boots and set them by the door.

" I told you to stop calling me that, dad. The other Laborers at the wall won't stop joking about it," she strode down a short hallway that opened up into their small living room. It was sparsely furnished, with a couch, coffee table, tv, and wall-mounted computer supplied by the city. Her dad was sitting on the couch and turned to look at her as she entered.

"Too bad, so sad, Teddy Bear. I'm an old man who’s too set in my ways to change," he smiled and scooted over just before Yona collapsed on the couch next to him, "must've had a lot more damage to undo than you thought. You haven't gotten home this late in a while. I was starting to worry. Did you run into any trouble?"

Yona absently combed through her long black hair as she talked, " Yea, there was a lot more damage than usual on the South Side. After you left I thought most of my work was done but that wasn't the end of it. Plus, two of my crewmates had to descend all the way down to do some patchwork. The MP must be more agitated than normal. Makes for slow work when everybody’s on edge.

“ I put in a request with the Head Laborer of the South Side for a security increase for the next batch of Laborers, just in case," She paused when she realized the concerned look plastered across her dad’s face, “They’re fine, by the way. Made the patches with no trouble.”

"I figured. But I’m not worried about _them_ , Yona; I’m worried about _you._ I wish they wouldn’t assign younger Laborers to more active sites. I still don't like that my Teddy Bear is out there so late working on areas with Ooze citings. I don’t want you in any more danger than you need to be. I don’t want to lose you like--" he stopped, catching himself. His unspoken words hung thick in the space between them.

_I don’t want to lose you like we lost your mom._

Yona pushed forward, dispelling the heavy sadness that choked the air, "You won’t. I promise. I’m not going anywhere, dad. Plus! We have Guards with snipers posted at every turret. It's _fine._ And I'm way more aware of my surroundings than you, old man," Yona smiled and lightly elbowed her dad.

He frowned, "Yona, you're not invincible--"

"Hey, did Dee stop by while I was out?" She cut in before he could start again.

He relented, "Yes, actually. She dropped by earlier to see if you wanted to get rations with her but you were still out working. She said you two were assigned to the same section tomorrow." 

"Yesss, working with Dee is the best!" Yona jumped up from the couch and made her way over to a small wall-mounted computer on the other side of the room. After a quick scan the screen blinked to life and she selected 'assignment' from the two-option menu. Her assignment ran upwards along the screen:

South Side Section C-3

Manny Abrar

Katherine Greere

Delilah Harris

Shota Nakagawa 

Yona Smith

"New section, at least," Yona shrugged before turning off the computer and turning towards her dad.

"Even further away from where I’m assigned," her dad's face was a worn landscape of worry, his eyebrows knitted together and his lips pursed.

"Dad, I know how to handle myself. And I'll have Dee with me! Shota, Manny, and Katherine are alright, too. I'll be fine, I promise." She gave him her best smile and his features softened.

"I know you'll be. But I still worry. Repairing the Wall is dangerous work."

"Good thing you raised me to be so smart, then. I'm going to shower and then head to bed, ok?" She said as she started towards the bathroom.

"Okay, Teddy Bear. Goodnight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MP  
> -Somewhat-intelligent creatures that have evolved as formless parasites. They can communicate in simple sentences to their conduits. They very in colors of dark browns, greys, and greens and appear to have evolved as an enormous, mammal-like macrophage. They are fast and strong, with flesh that constantly shifts to maneuver the environment. When still, they appear as pulsating mounds the size of a large child, but they can take on appendages and alter their shape to pursue prey. Once they have subdued their quarry, they overtake and consume it; dissolving its body into itself, effectively doubling in size. Once an MP has accumulated enough mass, it can reproduce asexually. MPs have been observed to reproduce sexually by combining itself with one or two other MPs, but only in rare circumstances. Have only been observed to consume creatures of high intelligence, but also partake in random acts of extreme violence on non-prey animals. If the MPs are unable to consume their prey, their bodies can form sharp or blunt appendages to brutally beat their targets. Highly aggressive. Primarily diurnal.


	3. Chapter 2

The next morning Yona walked with Dee to their new Wall assignment on the South Side. The streets were crowded at Eight in the morning, with laborers hurrying to get to their jobs and transport vehicles groaning loudly as they passed through the streets. Dee almost skipped as she strode beside Yona.

“Ahh! It’s been so long since we’ve gotten the same assignment. I’m  _ so  _ glad to be off of Silas’s work group; he smells like he’s never showered in his life and he kept making creepy passes at me. Was getting hard to not turn around and weld his mouth shut.” 

Yona smiled, “I’m surprised you didn’t knock him free of his cables.”

“Oh, I would have but, ya know. Murder is kind of frowned upon.”

“Right, right--laws and all that.”

“We’re just lowly Laborers after all, not above the law like those weirdo Conduits or the Seven,” Dee held up her hands and wriggled her fingers, “Though I don’t think losing Silas would be all that bad. There’s always more Laborers.” 

“Stop that,” Yona laughed lightly, “you don’t mean that.”

“Oh, but I  _ do. _ Anyways,” Dee cocked her head to the side, “Which train are we taking to C-3? I haven’t been over that far on the Wall before.”

“The Green Line headed West. I’ve been working on C-1 the past two weeks and that’s the train that runs through that section.”

Past glass buildings and the domed structure of the Food Distribution Center, the two walked along the road until they approached a large, rectangular concrete structure lined with archways. Throngs of Laborers in their blue jumpsuits filed into the different archways, each headed for a different destination across the city. Yona led Dee through the crowd until they reached the archway labeled Green Line in shiny bronze letters. The line here was considerably smaller than the rest.

“Section C repairs are wrapping up soon, so lucky for us there aren’t as many teams assigned to it. C’mon, let’s go,” Yona took Dee’s hand and the two wove through the crowd of people to make it to the archway. At the front of the line, beyond the crowd of people a silver shuttle slid up to the platform and its doors opened to receive passengers. The line disappeared into the shuttle quickly.

Inside the shuttle wasn’t too crowded, and the two were able to find seats. Once the doors slid shut the conductors voice sprung to life over the intercom, 

“ _ Good morning, Laborers. It’s another beautiful day here in Atlas. This is the Green line magnet train, bound for section C of the South Side.” _

Yona rested against the window as the train slowly lurched forward out of the station. She usually did her best to keep up with Dee’s often hectic conversations, but today she nodded absently while she stared out at the landscape passing by. The tracks of the train rose on a gentle incline, slowly rising up to reach the lip of the Wall. Blurs of the various slums along the outskirts of Atlas sank further and further down as the train climbed, until the track leveled out two-hundred feet above the city streets. Dee rambled on about the assignment as Yona looked on at the city laid out before them, all bricks and glass and gleaming towers that rose higher and higher going towards the center.

From here, she could see the dull gleam of the FDC’s domed roof, and further on the hundreds of rooftops of Laborer apartments. The center of the city was less visible. The further inward one ventured into Atlas the higher the buildings rose, the greater the skyscrapers stood. At the very center stood the tallest building of Atlas, an enormous skyscraper that stood one-thousand feet tall. Yona’s gaze lingered on this building longer than the others--that was the home of the Seven. It was so large, so beautiful--more than she could ever hope to experience, let alone live in.

“Yona? Yona! Are you even listening to me?” Suddenly, Dee’s bright green eyes were in Yona’s line of sight, blocking the view.

“Huh? Oh. Yea. Sorry, Dee. Just taking in the view,” Yona leaned forward in her seat.

“You were looking at the Palace again,” Dee made a face that scrunched up her nose, “what’s the use in daydreaming? That place is full of Conduits and people who don’t give a rat’s ass about you or me.”

“Yea, but,” the raven-haired girl sighed and tore her eyes from the window, “that doesn’t make the building any less beautiful.”

Her friend harrumphed and crossed her arms, “Beautiful because they hog all the best supplies,” the blond muttered. They didn’t speak much for the remainder of the ride.

Ten minutes that the train arrived at their stop and slid into the station with a hiss.

“ _This is stop C-3 on the South Side,”_ the conductor’s voice crackled over the intercom, “ _Please leave the train in a swift and orderly manner. Have a productive day. May the Seven Thrive.”_

__ “And the Wall hold fast,” Yona muttered under her breath. The doors of the train opened, and the Laborers filed out.

Stepping out onto the platform, Yona looked down at the ramp connecting the platform to the lip of the Wall. In front of them repairmen and women walked towards the gate that opened up to the exposed structure. Beyond that, the wall stretched forward into a walkway that ended abruptly and faced the empty sky. A Laborer stood to the right of the gate with a scanner, delegating spots and handing out gear that was transported from a storage system that ran throughout the Wall.

Yona and Dee waited their turn until they reached the front of the line. 

“Morning ladies,” the man deadpanned. He was tall and large, looming over the two and looking down at them over a big bushy beard, “May the Seven thrive.” He had said this to every person ahead of them in line. He sounded bored.

“And the Wall hold fast,” Yona said, offering a smile and her wrist. The man grunted and held up the scanner. Behind him, the cylindrical transport pod made a loud  _ Shhhhunk _ sound and a capsule slid into place. The small glass covering slid open. He reached back and withdrew the pod before handing it to Yona, “Your gear. You’re working under turret five, to your left. Three of your other crew members have already arrived.”

“The fourth would be me,” Dee said, stepping forward and thrusting her wrist out to be scanned. The man nodded and repeated the process. Dee took the pod from him with both hands and smiled to herself as the two of them passed through the gate.

Once at the turret, they opened the pods and removed their gear: inside was a fastening belt attached to two steel bungee cables, her mask, and her welding gloves. Yona pulled the belt up over her legs and reached down to slip its shoulder straps on. Her gloves and mask followed, though she flipped it upwards so as not to obscure her vision. She then pressed a small button at the front of her belt and it immediately shrunk to fit firmly around her waist. Two cords hung from the sides of the belt, which she gripped and strode over to the turret of the tower. Standing at the top was a younger woman with dark red hair--Yona noted, that was unusual--armed with a nasty looking sniper blaster. She was young, probably around her age, she guessed, with pale skin. She was wearing a dark grey jumper, shock absorbers, and rubber boots. Yona smiled up at her.

“Good morning! May the Seven thrive,” Yona shouted up at the woman.

The woman barked back without glancing down, “You’re late. The rest of your crew has already descended.” 

Yone flinched at her harsh tone, startled, “I-I’m sorry. I live a bit further away from the station and--”

“I don’t care. Hook up your cable and get your ass down there.”

Yona started to apologize when she felt the clap of Dee’s hand on her shoulder, “Don’t bother. Some Guards can’t be bothered to talk kindly to us,” the blonde girl whispered in her ear, “Let’s just hook up the cables and go.” 

_ They’re not that much higher than us, though... _ she thought, but looked back at her friend and nodded. She grabbed the cable in her hand. It ended with a circular metal anchor. Along the curved wall at the base of the turret were five lock mechanisms, three of which were already hooked up. Yona pushed the metallic head up to one of the free lock mechanisms and twisted it into place; the lock sealed shut with a metal  _ click.  _ She gave it a strong tug to make sure the line was secure. Beside her, Dee did the same.

“Ready to go?” Dee looked to Yona with a grin on her face.

“Always, Dee,” Yona said. The two of them made their way to the edge. Dee turned around, twin cables grasped tightly in her hands, and jumped backwards, disappearing from Yona’s view. Yona didn’t bother to turn around and look down at her friend rappelling down the Wall; even though she’d been making this descent since she was eighteen, the height still made her dizzy. She took a slow, deep breath, gripped the cables tightly, and jumped backwards into empty space.

For a brief moment, her heart fluttered in her chest as she dropped five feet down before swinging forward. Her work boots hit the smooth surface of the Wall with a solid  _ thud  _ and she pushed back off. Down she descended, lower and lower--searching for any damage. Usually the Wall suffered damage from the surrounding wilderness. The forest reached up about a hundred, and sometimes during bad storms, enormous branches broke off and were hurled at the Wall. Most of their work came in the form of thick blue vines that grew up from the foliage below, their alien roots digging in and puncturing the structure. They grew fast and seemingly overnight, the invasive arms threatening to retake the city should they be left alone. Rust was also to be expected. But  _ that  _ wear-and-tear was usually up higher along the wall and fairly easy to mend. The worst of the damage was far below, at the foot of the Wall.

The reason why Yona and the other Laborers felt safe, dangling one hundred and ninety feet in the air by two safety cords, was because down below on the forest floor lurked a far greater danger. 

She made quick work of any vegetation near the top; these vines seemed fairly young and had yet to do any penetrative damage to the Wall’s exterior. They fell away with a quick administration of flame from her welding glove. Yona propped herself back against the surface to look for any spots in need of immediate maintenance before rappelling further down. 

As Yona descended, leap by leap down the wall, a small knot grew in the pit of her stomach. This section was a lot nicer than her last assignment--yesterday was a chore. Today was not promising at all.

_ There’s nothing else close to the top,  _ she thought,  _ I need to go further.  _ With the next small leap Yona planted her boots firmly against the Wall’s smooth surface and turned her head to get a look at her crew mates. Dee was attached to the safety latch beside hers, dangling about twenty feet higher up than Yona. She had apparently found something to work on. Further over to the right were her other crew mates, each at various different heights and focusing on their own strips. Yona was the lowest of all. 

She took a deep breath to steady herself, then twisted around to peer out at the ground below her. It looked like she was just level with the purple and green canopy behind her. Ooze weren’t known to make a habit of climbing trees, but being halfway to the ground put Yona on edge. Lifting her head, she peered out into the dark, leafy forest and scanned the foliage for movement, focused her ears on the sounds of the trees. The plants swayed gently in the breeze that gently rocked her suspension gear. Though undercover in the trees, she could hear birdcall. Nothing out of the ordinary. Wildlife nearby was a good sign that any Ooze wasn’t lurking about.

Yona cast her gaze down along the wall below her. If she were lucky, maybe she wouldn’t have any more work to do here today and she could wait for Dee to be done at the top--she wouldn’t get paid much and she would only get one ration for the day, but it wouldn’t be the first time she went without enough food for lack of work.

_ C’mon, c’mon, don’t make me go down there…  _ her eyes swept over the expanse of metal below her and--

At the base of the Wall a badly corroded metal sheet stood out against the smooth surface of the structure.

“Dammit,” she cursed under her breath. Corrosion that far down could only mean that an Ooze had attempted to climb the wall and ended up damaging it with its corrosive fluids. The sniper at the top would not let her leave today without patching it up. With a resigned sigh, Yona yanked twice on her suspension cords and her belt began winding the coils, pulling her,up, up, up, to the top of the wall.

She hoisted herself up over the lip when the cord would reel in no further.

“Why aren’t you down there fixing the  _ Wall, _ Laborer?” The sniper yelled down at her before she could open her mouth.

“MP damage at the base, I can’t just fix it with my welder! I need to get a patch from the gate!” she called back up. She thought she saw the woman roll her eyes before calling back,

“Great, just great! That’s exactly what I needed today. Hurry up and come back with the patch.” Before Yona could respond, the woman had already gone back to surveying the others.

“ _ You’re _ not the one who has to go down and fix the dang thing,” Yona muttered under her breath as she unhooked her anchor from the turret. She turned to head back along the Wall to where the large bearded man was. He raised a bushy eyebrow as she approached.

“No damage today?” He grunted down at her.

“If only I could be so lucky,” she said, and threw him a small smile upwards, “Corrosive damage at the base. I need a patch, please.”

To her surprise, a look of worry passed over his face, “Those are gettin’ more and more common. We’re gettin’ low on ink...Be careful down there,” he said, and Yona blinked in surprise.

“Of course.” 

The man scanned his wrist at the small computer in front of his station. The screen flickered to life and he input something on its surface. A moment later the familiar metallic clank of a capsule entering the tube sounded and he turned around to retrieve it. He handed it to Yona, who secured the football-sized capsule to a strap on her belt.

“Thank you. And I’ll be careful, I promise,” she said, turning to head back down the walkway to her station.

Back at the turret she resecured her anchor and checked to make sure the capsule was in place.

“I’ll have my blaster trained on the forest the whole time you’re down there. If you get a funny feeling or things start to look dicey, just get out of there.” The sniper called down at Yona and she gave an affirmative nod.

_ I promised dad I’d be back, after all. _

Yona walked briskly over to the ledge, turned, and jumped down. The quicker she got this over with, the better. On the bright side, she’d definitely have enough rations by the end of this for lunch and dinner.

Descending as quickly as possible, Yonda made her way down to the forest floor. About halfway down, Yona heard Dee’s voice from several feet to her right,

“What are you doing?” she called, deactivating her welding glove and flipping her mask up. In response, Yona patted the capsule attached at her hip and jerked her head down towards the forest floor. Dee’s face filled with worry.

“Please be careful!”

Yona nodded, and continued to rappel down towards the floor. The sounds of nature were still audible behind her. She cast her gaze behind her to make sure the coast was clear, then looked back up at the enormous Wall before her. From here, it blocked out the sun. Against the vast expanse of metal she could see Dee and her fellow crew mates, who by now had all stopped their work to look down in apprehension at Yona and her work. Yona threw them a quick thumbs up as she touched down on the grass. She then turned her attention to the small whole in front of her. The last Laborer who had this section must’ve either not noticed it or ignored it; the dissolving fluids of whatever MP that had decided to attack the Wall had melted through several inches of exterior.

Yona reached down and unfastened the capsule attached to her belt and twisted it open. A handheld printer was inside. Taking it out, Yona pressed the “on” button on the side of the rectangular device. She held the printer in front of the damaged area and a blue light flickered over the hole. The light flickered green, and almost immediately the printer began synthesizing a tough plastic over the hole in the Wall, dimensions perfectly matching the necessary patch. Once it was completed, Yona activated her welding glove and the small, blue focused flame erupted from her right palm. With her left hand she flipped down her mask and began to fix the newly synthesized patch to the Wall.

“Going good, going good…” she whispered to herself. She cast a furtive glance around her before turning her attention back towards the patch.

She nearly leapt from her skin when, from high above her, the unmistakably zap of a blaster being fired rang out into the vast space. 

“ _ Yona!! _ ” Dee’s voice was faint but filled with terror. From behind her a terrible angry gurgling noise sounded from the forest. Her heart pounded. The sound of rushing blood filled her ears. More muscle memory that thought, Yona tugged twice on cords-- _ hard-- _ and the safety gear jerked her upwards, but not nearly fast enough. The sounds of snapping branches and rustling leaves came from the forest behind her and another blaster shot went off. High above her she could hear her crew mates swearing, and her safety gear jerked her up another ten feet just as a large grey MP came crashing through the foliage. 

Its surface rippled violently, and from somewhere within the disgusting creature a horrible gurgling shriek emitted, sending fear shooting up Yona's spine.  _ Vvvzzzat. _

__ Another volt of pure electricity fired from the sniper struck the writhing creature, this time hitting home. Blue streaks of plasma ran over the MP’s gel-like body before it collapsed in a puddle of muck.

Only then did Yona allow herself to breath.

“Yeaaaaa, Guard! You kicked that goop’s  _ ass! _ ” Dee squealed from somewhere above her. She was safe, but just barely. The safety gear had her up about twenty feet in the air now. Soon she would be able to hug Dee and get out of this stupid equipment. She couldn’t wait. Yona looked up to give her friend a shaky smile, but sudden movement from the treetops caught her eye. And her blood ran cold.

“Wait, n-” she started, as a blue amorphous figure slung itself out from the tree closest to her. The thing seemed to stretch itself out to catch the air and closed the distance between them effortlessly before slamming itself into Yona’s dangling form. The undulating mass swathed itself around her like a smothering blanket. She couldn’t move, and her breath was knocked completely out from her from the impact. In the back of her mind, Yona barely registered Dee’s screams as the MP wrapped it’s globular body around her.

_ This can’t be it. I can’t go yet, I can’t. _

The alien creature quickly encompassed her whole body, its form reaching up to dissolve the steel cables suspending them. Her vision obscured, all Yona could gather was the  _ snap  _ of her safety cord breaking away, followed by a painful  _ thud _ of her body and the MP impacting with the ground. Somewhere around her more rounds were being fired off. A jolt of electricity ran down her spine and she called out in pain, but her screams vanished into the wet folds of the MP.

And then everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Exploration Teams  
> -Exploration teams carry out missions outside of the city. Teams always have at least one conduit, preferably two. Their primary purpose is to eliminate Ooze and collect samples of creatures and plants from the Parallel Earth to take back to the CDA (Center for Dimensional Analysis). They are also assigned as escorts for scavenge laborers and trade routes carved out of the primordial forest that run between major cities and outposts


	4. Chapter 3

**Wake up.**

Soil. Fungus. Feces. Smell was the first sense that hit Yona hard, the scent of plant matter and earth and waste filling her nostrils. Her eyes snapped open and were greeted with an unfamiliar sight. Tall, dark tree trunks rose up out of the ground like towers around her, letting in blue and green tinted light that trickled through past expansive deciduous leaves. Around her the air swelled with sound, a rising tide of chirps, whistles and chattering. They hit her ears with a sudden and startling force, and she forced herself up on her elbows from where she was lying on her back.

**You are awake. Good. Now walk.** A scratchy voice cut through the sound of the forest that made her yelp.

"Who's there?" She called out into the dense wall of plants, "Where am I? Who are you?" Fear welled up in her throat as memories of the Wall came back to her. There was an MP. No, two MP. One was killed but the other attacked her, cut her free from the suspension cables--

Yona brought her right hand up to her face. Her welding gloves were intact, but damaged. She quickly took inventory of her person. Her safety belt was all but completely destroyed, melted away by the MP’s digestive juices. Along with most of her jumpsuit, she realized, hugging herself reflexively. Most of her pants had been eaten away, as well as large portions around her midriff. Her mask was gone, too, probably back at the base of the wall. No broken bones are far as she could tell, which was a miracle considering she had fallen at least thirty feet when the MP attacked her.

The MP. Where had it gone?

**Stupid girl. I never left.**

The voice spoke once again, a harsh whisper that hurt her ears. Yona reached a hand up to her head and clutched a handful of thick black hair. The voice wasn't coming from around her, she realized, but from  _ inside  _ her.

"What the heck are you? What happened to me? Where is the Wall?" Yona let go of her hair and gathered her legs underneath her. She stood up and looked around. The trees and shrubs were too thick to see past; she had no idea what direction the Wall was in. 

Frustrated, she asked again,"Answer me!"

**I am. What you call. Macro. Phage. Couldn't eat. Girl ate me instead.**

_ WHAT? _

"You," Yona started, taking a step back, "you are an MP? That's impossible, how are you talking to me? Laborers can't talk to MPs. Laborers can't  _ survive _ an MP attack, let alone eat one, whatever that means," her voice rose to a high pitch and she felt panic begin to bubble up in her throat.  **Couldn't eat,** the MP repeated from somewhere in her head. It sounded somewhat annoyed with her,  **Must walk, now. Dangerous to be Together.**

Yona wasn't sure how she knew, but the way the MP said "Together" seemed to imply something very strange. Something impossible.

"Are...are you saying I overtook you? That we combined?” Yona stared into the palms of her hands as if they held the answers to her questions, “Am I a Conduit?" Silence returned her question, save for the dull hum of the forest around her. All of the sudden she felt oddly self-conscious talking to herself in the middle of the forest. Then,

**That is the word. You use. Yes, Conduit. Now walk.**

Yona took a few steps backwards until her back thudded lightly against the trunk of a tree. Her mind reeled at the thought. Her? A Conduit? That wasn’t supposed to be possible; potential Conduits were bred in Atlas, raised for combat and reconnaissance from birth.

“That can’t be right, I don’t understand how this could happen--”

**Walk now, think later. Other MP will soon. Find us.**

The thought had not occurred to her that they weren't alone in this dense, wild forest. Suddenly the shadows cast by the trees seemed threatening, and every noise that of an enemy. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

Right, they weren't within the Wall's embrace, after all. This was foreign territory. MP territory. Pushing herself off the tree trunk, Yona took a few steps forward over the densely carpeted forest floor. All around her large trees and leafy foliage spread out, blocking her view for about five feet in front of her. She appeared to be in a small patch of forest not taken up by flora, save for the spongy white moss beneath her feet, probably because of the massive tree that sprouted up behind her that was hogging most of the sunlight.

“Which way is the Wall? And how did I end up here, anyways?”

**I carried you. In my body. Before I was rejected. And eaten. The Wall is in the direction. You call. North. I did not make it. Far. Hit by. Enemy.**

That sniper. She must have hit them as she was carried away. But how could she tell which way was North? The green and blue of the large leaves blocked her sight past the canopy. They couldn’t have been gone for more than a few hours. If she could just see past the leaves she could get her bearings.

“Hey, is there any way you can get us to the top of this tree?”

**You have control. Not me,** The raspy voice answered. If she were really a Conduit, then the MP was right; she should be able to form alterations or even new limbs if she tried. The only question was how. 

“Alright, here goes nothing,” she turned to face the great trunk of the tree behind her. Though not as tall as the Wall, the giant reached up at least one hundred feet, with huge branches reaching towards the sky. Yona looked back down at her hands. The shiny metal of her gloves showed her reflection, tired and bedraggled, looking back at her. She imagined they were claws, like the gloves of Explorers that helped them navigate these forests. At once the shiny metal of the gloves split open as long blue claws expanded and tore through the glove with ease. 

She started, but calmed her beating heart with deep breaths. Alright, this was real. She was a Conduit, apparently. If the voice in her head wasn’t proof enough, the long blue claws erupting from her finger tips surely were. 

_ I probably should have taken the gloves off, first… _

Slightly trembling, Yona reached out one clawed hand and placed it against the rough bark of the tree. She curled her fingers, and the dark blue sank just as easily into the wood as it did through the metal. With her other hand she did the same, then began climbing, hand-over-hand up the side of the enormous tree. She carried her weight easily. It felt wrong to let her legs dangle, though, and without meaning to she felt her toes expand into similar claws that burst through her boots.

_ I really hope I don’t have pay for those,  _ she thought as she put her legs to work helping her scale the towering tree. In no time at all and without so much as a drop of sweat, Yona climbed to the top of the tree and came to stop at a great branch that extended above any other of the surrounding plant life. From here, she didn’t even need to see the sun--no more than about half a mile away rose the Wall, stark and gleaming against the bright blue sky. She wasn’t far at all.

“Now we just have to make it around to the entrance,” she said. But that was easier said than done. If the MP had carried her out straight from her station, they were still by the South Side. Atlas had one main entrance and aside from the emergency exit at the North Side, and that was several miles Northeast along the East Side. 

"It's going to take at least until nighttime to make it over there," she said, raising a hand to cover her eyes as she squinted up at the sun. When she fell it was early in the morning; now the sun was making its descent, though it wasn't too far down. The ever-present rift burned a bright red, fixed in place to the West.

**Why not. Return to where. You fell?**

"Because they think I was killed by you. The whole of the South Side is probably on high alert right now. They'll shoot anything they see moving along the forest's edge, thanks to you," she practically spat. 

Yona peered down past the branch she was standing on at the forest floor below. She was suddenly painfully aware of how high she'd climbed--at least one hundred feet. Before dizziness set in, she knelt down on the branch and steadied herself with her claws.

_ Getting down...okay...how am I going to make that happen? _

A few below her was another large branch. Past that, the branches formed an almost uniform series of platforms until they ended about twenty feet up the tree.

"Here goes nothing." She sank her claws into the branch and carefully lowered herself until she was dangling freely from the limb. Then, sending a prayer up to whatever might be listening, she released and fell a ways down before her feet hit solid wood and her claws sank in. Without pause she repeated the action, her muscles working effortlessly to clutch, release, and clutch once more as she dropped down through the canopy. At the last branch she leapt down and dropped the last twenty feet, landing in a crouch on the soft moss below. She barely felt the impact.

"I guess being a Conduit adds some physical perks. Along with the morphing," she commented, straightening up and looking at her own body with a giddy look on her face. 

**My body. Acts to support your own. Weak human girl.**

"If I'm so weak then how did I 'eat' you, huh?" 

The MP didn't speak back to her, but replied in a sort of low grumble that conveyed annoyance. She smiled to herself. 

If scaling the tree and getting back down took so little physical stress, then maybe getting back home wouldn't take too long, after all. 

"Alright, MP, let's see how fast I can maneuver this forest," Yona turned in the direction of the Wall and took off in what she meant to be a light jog--instead, her first step sent her all but flying several feet forward and she crashed through a bush, falling flat on the other side. The MP made a noise that sounded like laughter. This was going to take some getting used to.

  
  
  
  


Joining the Guard was always an aspiration of John’s, ever since he was a little kid playing “Wall Attack” in his parent’s livingroom. He and his sister would push the couch out from up against the wall and he would stand at the top, hurling pillows as his sister attempted to climb up and push him off. His parents were field Explorers, and though they disapproved of his dream they had hoped he would eventually grow out of it. They were higher in society and provided with everything they needed to succeed and besides; there was plenty of time for him to come to his senses and realized it was better to be an Explorer.

In grade school, his classmates thought him a nuisance; he was always first to answer, first to volunteer, first to get A’s. John worked very hard, despite being born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His family was delighted, yet unsurprised, when he received an invitation to the Atlas University of Excellence. 

After a celebratory dinner and the rest of the house had gone to sleep, his father had taken him aside and asked him: “What do you want to become in this world?” 

“A Guard, of course!” His father was outraged; why would he have worked so hard to become a simple Guard? He and his mother had raised him better than that! Did he really want to embarrass his family like this?

John held his tongue and accepted his father’s tirade, but knew in his heart what he wanted to be. Atlas was nothing without the protection of the Wall, and he was sure his parents would understand his decision later on. And so, John apologized, thanked his dad for his words of wisdom and went to bed. That night he went to bed, saddened by his father’s words but more eager than ever to begin his studies.

Just as before, John performed at the top of his class; top in shooting, top in history, top in field training--anything there was to be at the top of, John made sure he was there. After three hard years of work and training, John at last graduated from AUE at the top of his class, with the Seven in attendance to witness the graduation of this extraordinary boy who had caught their attention. Lizza Heartwell herself, dean of AUE and one of the Seven, announced his graduating class. She draped his graduation medal around his neck, turned so that they both faced the auditorium, and asked aloud into a room booming with applause,

“Johnathan Evans, you have done so much to arrive here. What would you like to be in this life?” she asked, anticipating Explorer, or Doctor, or Scientist.

The room fell to a hush. Even the Seven leaned in to hear the young man’s response. The anticipation was palpable.

All at once, that anticipation was shattered.

“I want to be a Guard,” he said, with an enormous smile and such pride on his face that Lizza almost felt bad for the appalled gasps that filled the room. His parents put in a request for a separate housing unit for John that night.

Now, at 21, John worked diligently every day at his post; guarding the entrance on the West side and standing in quiet dignity whenever he heard the whispers or taunts of field Explorers going to and from expeditions.

“Isn’t that the Valedictorian who wanted to be a  _ Guard?” _

“Ugh, what a waste of talent.”

“I heard he chose to be a Guard because he’s too scared to fight an MP.”

_ You’re wrong,  _ he thought,  _ when you all trip and fall, I’m this city’s final line of defense. And your best shot.  _ MPs were getting more aggressive nowadays, their attacks more frequent and strategies more complex. Just two weeks ago a team had returned from an expedition, all but wiped out, save for their Conduit and a terrified Backline, who insisted that they had been tricked into a premeditated ambush. All of Atlas was on edge, and though the Seven would never admit it, they were worried, too.

And so John stood dutifully at the gates to the city, anticipating the worst. Imagine his surprise when a girl, half-naked and wearing busted Wall Laborer equipment came into his scopes. She appeared about two-hundred feet down the wide dirt road that disappeared into the forest, looking frightened and with her hands in the air.

“Don’t shoot,” she hollered as she approached, “My name is Yona Smith, I was attacked and fell off the Wall on the South Side this morning!”

From atop his perch on the turret, John lowered his sniper blaster and spoke into his comms,

“This is John at the main entrance requesting the Wall be opened. The Laborer from the South Side is alive and approaching the gate,”

“She’s  _ alive??”  _ a thin voice crackled back through the comms. Below him the Wall groaned as the gates slid open, the twenty-foot metal doors retracting to receive her. John spoke to his fellow guard posted on the turret across from him to keep an eye on the forest wall, and he leapt from his perch. The suspension gear on his belt hissed as he descended quickly, adjusting to slow his momentum as he fell two hundred feet down to the gates. John touched down on the ground lightly before slinging his blaster over his shoulder. He pressed a button on his belt and the suspension cords released so he could jog over to meet the girl.

“May the Seven thrive,” the girl said hastily.

“And the Wall hold fast,” he quickly said back, “Are you okay, Laborer? How on earth did you make it all the way over here? Also, you may lower your hands,” he said, approaching her. He reached for a scanner on his belt and held it out. Yona released a breath she didn’t realise she’d been holding.

“It’s a long story, and I don’t know if you would believe me,” she said, holding out an arm for him to scan her wrist. The machine beeped twice and he looked down to read it.

“It’s you alright. Laborer fifty-seven-hundred and ten, Yona Smith. And you can go ahead and tell me, believable or not. I’m going to have to record this conversation to report back to the head of the Wall guard. When word got out that an MP seized a Laborer, they went ahead and reported you dead. I’m sure your household will be ecstatic to hear otherwise.”

“Right, my dad...and Dee, they must be worried sick!” 

Despite the situation, John almost smiled at the look of sincerity on the Laborer’s face; he hardly saw that among his peers, “If you could recall the incident,” he said gently, nudging her out of thought.

“Oh, yes. Sorry about that. Erm,” she squirmed uncomfortably, “I know, I know! I’m working on it,” she snapped. John looked at her questioningly, and Yona flinched, “Please, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. I know it’s not my place, but can I ask that we get inside the Wall first? I would like to know that I’m safe, please.”

The Guard raised an eyebrow at her brazen request, but he didn’t like feeling so exposed, either.

“Alright then. Though I would hope you aren’t so comfortable with others above your station. I’m a lot more lenient about the hierarchy than most,” he said, and motioned for her to walk ahead of him.

“Of, course. It’s just been a long day. Thank you very much.” She began walking. John caught himself looking at her figure as they approached the gates. She was fairly tall and slender,with thick black hair that fell just past her shoulders. Despite her lithe stature, the definition of muscle shone clearly on her tanned arms and legs, proof of her work as a Laborer. Her suspension gear was completely destroyed, and much of her uniform eaten away by what had to be the MP that had attacked her. He looked up hastily. Now was not a good time to be ogling a Laborer, much less one who was clearly in distress.

The two of them passed through the enormous metal gateway and the doors slid shut loudly behind them. Past the gate a long metal corridor stretched out before them, tall and dimly-lit. John walked just behind her, and smiled reassuringly when she spun around at the echoing boom of the gate closing. At the end of the tunnel the two of them walked out into harsh sunlight and into a large open courtyard. Transport roads ran along either side of the Wall, lined with electric force fields. On the far side of the courtyard stood another checkpoint with an arching bridge visible just behind a guarded barrier. A small building set behind it, with two Guards stationed at either side of the barrier. John nudged the Laborer with his elbow to move faster, just when the comm set in his ear buzzed to life,

“Guard John Evans, this Head Guard Williams. I request you bring the Laborer with you into headquarters, so that I may speak with her.” 

“Yes ma’am,” he responded as they approached the checkpoint.

John glanced at the Laborer as they scanned her wrist for identification. She had likely never been to this portion of Atlas, which was separated from the main city by a large bridge that spanned over the slums.

Yona was indeed taking in the sight; she’d been over this span of the city before, but only from the tops of the railway,with the scenery racing by below her. This was the most blasters she’d seen in one place before and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t intimidated. 

“Change of plans, Laborer. You’ll be recounting your little adventure to the Head Guard back at the South Side.” In front of them the barrier arm lifted high in the air to allow them passage and they stepped through. John fell into step with her and grabbed her by the elbow to steer them around the back of the building.

“What? I thought all I had to do was speak to you. I would really like to just go home. My dad--my dad needs to know I’m okay _ , _ ” she said pleadingly. At this, John glanced behind them at the two Guards keeping post. One was turned around and looking straight at John with a questioning look on his face.  _ You gonna let her talk back?  _ his look said, and John waved a hand at him.  _ I have it under control. _

John spun back and looked down at her. She was looking up at him, annoyance painted clearly across her face. 

“Look,” he said, pausing to stop, “I know you’ve been through a lot and you want to get home, but your talking back to a higher-up is really starting to get on my nerves. If the Head Guard wants to talk to you in person, then you will stop complaining and go talk to the Head Guard. You got that,  _ Laborer?” _ he said, daring her to talk back. 

The young woman visibly bristled, but said no more. John turned and continued walking. He didn’t need to steer her by her elbow; she knew to follow. He hated talking down to her, he really did--John of all people know how it felt to be regarded as lesser than someone else--but she really needed to be reminded of the way things were before he brought her to see Williams. Though he had only met the old woman once, he knew that she was a stickler for the hierarchy and was known for punishing those below her that overstepped their place.

Soon the two of them rounded the corner of the building and came to a vehicle lot. John led her to the far side of the lot, to a silver military-grade hovercycle. He slung a leg over the seat and hopped on before turning and motioning for the Laborer to join him.

She looked at him then the bike, and with a resigned sigh, she did the same. On the handlebars hung his helmet. He grabbed it and passed it back to her. The laborer took it hesitantly, and he didn’t turn around until she fit it over her head.

“You’re gonna want to grab on,” he said, holding his wrist up to the scanner between the handlebars. After verifying his identification the bike hummed to life and lifted a foot off the ground. He heard the girl huff behind him before sliding her arms around his waist.

Secured on the bike, John revved the bars, pulled out of the space, and tore out of the lot. Once on the bridge, the Laborer behind him pulled tighter around his waist and he laughed into the wind; she wasn’t so tough now. They zipped over the bridge quickly and entered the city proper. Golden Hour was on the horizon, so the streets were fairly empty. Headquarters for the Guard wasn’t too far, anyways, and they made quick time. 

John slowed down as they approached a brilliant white building that stood out against the glass, steel and brick of the surrounding buildings. A parking garage entrance opened up to the street a ways down, and he turned left to enter. At the entrance was an automated gate system with another arm barrier similar to the one on the bridge. With a quick scan they were allowed entrance, and John pulled through. He found a space near the elevator, parked, and hopped off the bike. Behind him, he heard the Laborer hit the ground.

“Sorry if the ride frightened you. It’s bad to keep the Heads waiting,” he said. She had nothing to say, but ripped the helmet off and practically threw it on the handlebars.

_ Guess she’s still upset. _

"The Head will be right this w--" he began, hand outward in gesture towards the elevators when its doors slid open, revealing an older, dark-skinned woman followed by severalLaborer personnel, all wearing blue jumpsuits and holding projected computer screens from their wrists. 

Head Guard Williams emerged wearing a dark grey jumper similar to that of the the other Guards, only she wore a bright gold pin to the left of her heart, a symbol of Head status. Her grey hair was slicked back into a tight bun. Wasting no time, the short older woman strode forward from the open elevator and approached John and Yona with an air of superiority. Pushing his shoulders back, John stood up straight at attention and addressed her:

"Head Guard William's, ma'am!"

“H-head Guard Williams," Yona stammered and cast her glance to the ground, "May the Seven thrive."

"Don't bother with pleasantries, Laborer," she stopped directly in front of Yona and looked up into the girl's face. Though she was about a head shorter than Yona, she radiated authority and put the girl on edge, "I want to know exactly how you survived an attack from an MP head-on, with no weapon, and managed to stumble your way back to Atlas through the Primordial Forests."

John, still holding posture, looked over at the Laborer, who seemed to be sweating bullets. She somehow made herself look even smaller and mumbled something quickly to the Head Guard. Her body language was completely different now, and he almost felt sorry for the poor Laborer. Facing an MP attack and getting interrogated by a Head both on the same day?  _ I wouldn’t want to be in  _ her _ shoes. _

"What was that? Speak up when addressed by your superiors, girl."

"I said I think I'm a Conduit.”


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all're enjoying the story so far!

A deathly silence had fallen over the parking garage. Yona looked down at the Head in front of her, all the fire and bristle radiating from the woman before now smothered and gone. Was that the right thing to say? Should she have been less direct? Should she have just lied and gotten this all over with?

_ No,  _ she thought,  _ best not to lie to the higher-ups. And it’s not like I can keep this a secret, anyways.  _

“A. Uh. A what--” the older woman sputtered in disbelief. It was almost like Yona had input a command on a computer and the system was lagging. The personnel behind her were all slack jawed, their work momentarily paused. A rough hand clasped her arm and squeezed tightly, and she cast a glance up to the Guard who had brought her here. His name was John, she thought? She thought she’d heard someone bark the name through his comms. John’s face had gone very pale, and he looked down at her with angry blue eyes.

“What did I say about paying respect to higher-ups? This is ridiculous, Laborer. Give the Head an honest answer if you don’t want any trouble,” he gave her a stern look before releasing her arm; it stung where he let go.

“I’m not lying, though! Look, I know it sounds crazy, but--”

“Prove it.”

Yona turned her attention back to the Head. She seemed to have regained her composure and was now glaring daggers at Yona, as if she could see past her exterior to the MP dwelling just beneath it. She squirmed uncomfortably.

“Yes mam. I will. Though I am not entirely confident in my abilities right now. Could you and the Guard take a step back just in case?” she asked shyly, bringing her arms up to hug herself.

“You had better not be fooling around, Laborer. Asking me to follow your  _ requests,”  _ she spat the word, but took several steps back towards the elevator. Her assistants followed. Yona glanced behind her to make sure that John had done the same, then relaxed her arms and opened her palms towards the ceiling. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. After a moment, brilliant blue tissue rippled beneath the surface of her skin and traveled up to her fingertips, where it surged forward into the same sharp claws she’s used early to scale the giant tree. As they extended the flesh faded to a dull blue and hardened. Looking up, Yona held out her hands for the two of them to inspect.

“By the Seven,” the Head murmured as she strode forward to inspect the smooth blue claws. All the Laborers behind her leaned in to get a better look. “You  _ were _ telling the truth. This is unprecedented. This is incredible. A Laborer becoming a Conduit?” She reached out her hands to cup Yona’s in her own.

Yona resisted the urge to pull back as the silver-haired woman flipped her hands over. John was next to her again, and looking nervously at her new claws.

“I apologize for my behavior earlier Labor--er, I mean Miss. Yona, was it?” Dark brown eyes looked up at her. Yona blinked in surprise.

“Y-Yes. Yona Smith.” What a drastic one-eighty. The Head smiled wide and released her hands. 

“Well, Miss Smith, it would seem by some divine miracle you are moving up in the world! What an honor to meet you, such a beautiful and impressive young woman. The Seven will be alerted at once,” Williams turned her head towards the group of Laborers behind her who were gawking at Yona’s outstretched hand, “What are you all standing around for? I want a report written and a message sent to the Seven at once! Get to it,” she barked. They all scrambled to reopen their projections and responded with a collective “yes ma’am” before burying their noses in their computers. 

Yona swallowed hard and twisted her lips into a strained smile, “O-Oh, the S-Seven? Really? Isn’t t-that a bit too much?” 

“Nonsense, you are a Conduit, and a special one at that. They will want to meet you immediately,” she straightened up and barked at the Guard, “Evans! Escort Miss Smith to her neighborhood and see to it that she gets there safely. She’s had a long day and I’m sure she wants to get back home.”

The anxiety building in her chest diminished some at the mention of her home. Yona looked back at John, “I really do.”

The Guard jumped slightly and threw his hand up in hasty salute, “Yes ma’am, Head Guard Williams. Right away.”

Head Williams nodded firmly, then looked back to Yona with the same sickly sweet smile, “Evans is Atlas’ best Guard, he’ll take good care to see you home. I will see to it that word of your...promotion reaches the necessary higher-ups. I wouldn’t doubt that you’ll hear from them by tomorrow--expect word from us in the morning.”

Yona nodded back. The older woman spun on her heel and strode back towards the elevator, followed by her flock of assistants, and Yona turned to face the young Guard still standing in salute behind her. He sighed, falling into a more relaxed stance when the Head disappeared through the elevator doors and gestured to the hovercycle parked a ways behind them.

“May I escort you home, Miss Smith?”

“So it’s Miss Smith now, huh?” Yona raised an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest.

“I. Er. It’s proper to--”

“Just call me Yona, please? You don’t have to treat me differently just because I’m higher up than you now. It makes all our interactions feel gross,” she held out her hand. He smoothed back his brown hair nervously. John’s eyes flickered from her face to her hand, and he scratched the back of his neck absently.

“Of course. Miss Sm--Yona. Uh, as long as we’re on friendly terms would you mind putting your claws away?”

**Big bad Guard scared of you.** The MP laughed in the back of her mind.

Yona looked down at her extended hand and pulled back slightly.

“Oh, right. Sorry, I’m still not used to this.” Just as quickly as they appeared, the long blue claws shrank back into her skin, replaced with blunt, neatly trimmed nails. “That any better?” she smiled weakly and held out her hand once more.

He smiled back and clasped her hand with his own calloused one, “Better. My name is Evans, by the way. But if you want, you can call my John. I’m uh, really sorry about being rude earlier. I’m not really into all that fake stuff when it comes to addressing higher-ups, I just didn’t want you getting in trouble for being so casual.” A hand went back to his neck to scratch.

_ Must be a nervous tick. _

“No, it’s alright. I know the hierarchy is important but I’ve always been bad about it. Dee always said I was lucky to have a pretty face, otherwise I’d have gotten into trouble with the wrong people by now--oh my gosh,  _ Dee _ . My  _ dad _ . They’ve got to be miserable right now,” Yona grabbed onto John’s sleeve, “I really need to get home.”

John stuttered, “Y-yes! Right, c’mon, let’s get a move on.” The young man turned and jerked his hand towards the hoverbike parked nearby. He still seemed pretty flustered and confused about the whole situation, but Yona didn’t bother to tease him about it. She strode over with John just behind her and hopped on the back of the seat in a fluid motion. John got on after her and activated the hovercycle, the machine humming gently as it rose from the hard concrete. He handed her the helmet hanging from the handlebars.

“Alright. South Side Laborer apartments, right?” John asked as she slid the helmet over her head. It was too big for her and fit loosely over her raven head, giving her the appearance of a bobble head. He suppressed the urge to laugh.

“Yep. I’m all set back here,” she said, slipping her arms around his waist. John’s Guard jumpsuit was scratchy against her exposed skin, and Yona was reminded of the tattered state of her clothes.

_ Oh God, I can’t believe I’ve been driving around the city looking like this,  _ she thought,  _ I just hope he drives this thing fast. _

With a rumbling roar, the hovercycle jerked forward towards the entrance where the arm was already rising up to allow their passage out of the parking garage. John pulled left onto the street and into the thick afternoon air. Even the wind whipping against his face was hot with humidity, despite the setting of the sun. It was later than he had realised. It seemed like Golden Hour had passed while they were meeting the Head, as the streets were already lit up by street lamps and sparkling lights of Wastrel stands popping up on the sidewalks.

On either side of the streets as the passed by Wastrels announced their wares and beckoned them closer. Colorful patchwork tents and stalls whizzed by in a flurry of color and light, and beckoning calls of Wastels followed as howls into the wind. From beneath the visor of the helmet Yona could just make out the blurred faces of teens and young Laborers mixed in with dirty and colorful faces of Wastrels. Though she was riding by many of the attractions at high speeds, this was the closest she’d ever been to the activities offered in Atlas once the sun went down.

The hovercycle beneath her jerked suddenly as they began to decelerate, and Yona tore her attention from the passing sidewalks to look around John’s looming frame. Why were they slowing down? Oh. Red light. The bike slowed to a complete stop and the full force of sounds met her ears, no longer diffused by the wind. John lowered his feet to the ground while the bike hummed idly beneath him. Yona swung her head around to get a better look of their surroundings. 

Throngs of people walked by, most in groups and some alone. From stalls lining the sidewalk vendors announced what they had to offer, from food to clothes to knicknacks. A smattering of colorful lights cut through the dark of the night; some looped around and across the stalls, others hanging from the clothes of the vendors themselves. From somewhere down the street jazz music blared. The air was thick with sweet and savory smells and the chatter of Atlas nightlife. It was oddly...beautiful. Yona noticed she was smiling to herself and quickly stopped. She turned her gaze back in front of her, past John’s broad shoulders and to the traffic light.

“This thing sure has been red for a while,” she said.

“I know, this light can be…” John’s voice faded away abruptly and Yona was overcome with a horrible feeling of dread. She felt the hairs on her arms stand up and panic began to bubble up in her throat. The MP in her head rasped harshly,

**Threat.**

“What? Where? Another MP?” She said, whipping her around at the scenery around her. At once the sense of wonder of the lights and colors washed away, replaced with fear and suspicion.

“What was that?” John said, and she nearly leapt out of the seat.

“Something...something is near…” her voice trailed off as a strange feeling tugged her attention to their right. At the corner of the stop was a hastily pitched stand, with twinkling christmas lights strewn across a crudely stitched blue awning. The woman standing behind the stall had deep blue paint drawn from her forehead to her nose and was talking to a tall, broad-shouldered man. She was holding up some kind of meat on a skewer. Almost as soon as Yona’s eyes locked onto the man he turned away from the Wastel and met her stare. The sounds of the street dropped away. Her vision zeroed down to the man. Just the man. Dazzlingly orange eyes stared daggers past grey locks of hair into her own, and the sudden rush of adrenaline that washed over her screamed that she needed to get out of there  _ right. Now. _

__ “Go,” she said in a hushed tone. The man smiled far too wide, and took a step towards the idling hovercycle.

“Come again?” John was now looking over his shoulder at Yona. The man took another step.

“ _ MOVE IT.” _ Yona reached forward from around Johns waist and gripped the handlebars, revving the engine and sending them rocketing forward. John swore and clasped his hands over hers, jerking them to the right and narrowly avoiding hitting a hover car driving across the intersection. It honked angrily as they zipped past. Yona’s eyes remained glued to the man’s as he disappeared into the distance.

“What the hell did you do that for? There’s only one helmet, you know,” John yelled back at her. 

Yona didn’t answer, and instead leaned into his back and struggled to calm her beating heart. Several seconds passed by before she regained composure and yelled up to him,

“I”m sorry, I just got a really awful feeling about this guy, and…” her voice trailed off when the feeling of dread overtook her once more. What? How? They left him back at the intersection? Yona looked up from leaning against John.  **On your right.**

Yona jerked her head to the side and screamed. The man was two feet away from them, grinning widely. He made pace with the hovercycle comfortably, legs working with the efficiency of a machine. 

“What the hell?” John looked over his shoulder and nearly swerved into oncoming traffic. 

“You’re new,” the man said, predatory smile still plastered to his face, “Why have I not met you yet?”

Yona couldn’t seem to find her voice. She was paralyzed by this terrible man, and in response she squeezed John tighter. 

“Stop the bike, Guard,” he yelled at John over the rush of the wind.

Her voice returned, “What? No!” she protested, but around them the blur of buildings ceased. John pulled the bike to the side of the road, blocking the front of a Wastrel’s stall. He yelled something obscene at the two of them, but quickly relented when John shrugged the heavy blaster strapped across his shoulder. 

Behind them, the smiling man slowed, too, and lightly jogged over to meet them. John hopped off the bike and threw Yona an apologetic glance before turning to salute the approaching stranger. Reluctantly, Yona followed suit and jumped from her seat, then turned to face him. She noticed that his jeans were now completely shredded down past his knees, where his legs were covered in a glossy grey sheen of some sort which was rapidly shifting and disappearing through the skin, and everything clicked into place in her brain.

“You’re a Conduit,” she said as he came to a stop, too agitated to greet the stranger. This  _ dangerous  _ stranger.

“That I am, cutie.” That pearly white smile was even bigger than before, and Yona frowned. “The name’s Russo. Luca Russo. But you can just call me Luca, cutie,” stepping forward, we reached and took Yona’s chin between his fingers, his tall frame looming over her. His breath smelled like liquor. Yona knocked his hand away and took a step back towards John. Smiling wider, he let his hand drop limpy to his side.“Hm. Ya got a fire in those pretty brown eyes of yours. That Guard can’t defend you; he can’t even raise a finger towards me. Well, I introduced myself, are you going to be rude or treat me in kind?”

Yona sneered, “I don’t have to tell you anything,” tugging on John’s sleeve, she turned to get back on the hovercycle, but John didn’t budge. She looked up at him in frustration and saw that he was standing stock-still in a salute, eyes facing forward.

“John? What is wrong with you? You have orders from the Head to get me home, remember?” Her eyebrows knit together in worry. A deep, rumbling laugh bubbled up from behind her and Yona spun to face Luca, “What?”

“My authority ranks higher than any Head, cutie. He ain’t taking you home till  _ I  _ say so.” That brilliant white smile stuck on his face made Yona go red with annoyance.

“Yea? Well you know that I’m a Conduit, too. My rank is just as high as yours. John, take me home,  _ now,”  _ she said. 

“Oh, but cutie,” he said, his voice now in her ear. Yona yelped and spun back around to see that he was now bent over to meet her at eye level, “He’s  _ afraid _ of me _.” _ His previously joking tone had turned sinister, and those burning orange eyes stared intensely into her own. It made her blood run cold, and she could feel the MP inside her communicate a feeling of great dread.  **Get away. Get away,** it urged, but Yona held her ground and kept her gaze fixed with his. Several tense seconds passed by before he gave another one of those deep, bellowing laughs and straightened up. He was only a few inches taller than John, and he threw a level glance his way.

“If you aren’t going to be polite, then your Guard friend will. You, what’s you and the girl’s name?”

“John, please don--”

“John Evans, Wall Guard. This is Yona Smith, former Wall Laborer.” he said and cast a look to Yona that said  _ I’m so sorry _ . “By order of Head Guard Williams I am to escort her home tonight, if you would be so kind as to let me follow through with my task.”

Luca’s smile stretched impossibly wider as he rested his hands on his hips and looked over at the now burning-red young woman to his side. He whistled.

“Former Wall Laborer, huh? So the newbie’s got a story to tell--I can’t wait to hear all the juicy details. It’s not everyday we get some new skin around here.” Luca turned to look at the Wastrel whose presence had all but been forgotten. “Hey, that food you’re selling looks good, I’ll take two.” 

The man startled and mumbled something about the price. Luca rolled his eyes and thrust his wrist outward to make the transaction. The man at the stall hastily scanned it and produced two grilled fruit skewers which Luca took without so much as a nod. The tall Conduit held out the skewer to Yona.

“Take it. You wouldn’t want to look even  _ more  _ stupid, now would you cutie?” She snatched it from his hand and tossed it over her shoulder. Yona glared daggers at him, daring him to say something. He just laughed again, “Yikes, she’s feisty. Alighty then, miss Yona. You have a safe ride home,” Luca took a bite out of a grilled slice of pear and began walking down the sidewalk in the way they came from, “I’ll be seeing you. That’s a promise.” Just as suddenly as he appeared, he was gone; disappearing into the haze of stall lights and nightlife. 

“Just who does he think he is, terrorizing us like that?” She huffed. John’s hand came to rest on her shoulder, gentle yet firm.

“I know you’re a Conduit and all now, but that was really crazy what you just did. Russo is one of Atlas’ top Frontliners. He returned two weeks ago from an MP ambush that absolutely destroyed his team, and he’s been even more unpredictable than usual ever since. Trust me when I say you don’t want to be on his bad side.”

“Are all Conduits like him?”

“Most Conduits are a little...strange. But Russo is more aggressive than most,” he squeezed her shoulder lightly, “I’m sorry. For not doing anything. For not standing up for you. He gets away with doing some pretty awful things because of his Conduit status and I didn’t want to risk either of us making him angry. Honestly, I think he left so easily because you’re a Conduit now, and he takes the Hierarchy very seriously.”

Yone sighed and placed a hand over his, “It’s ok. I wasn’t mad at you, John. The whole ordeal was just...unsettling.” 

Through the tinted visor of her helmet John could see her eyes looking directly into his own, warm and understanding--it made his stomach to a flip and he quickly looked back to the bike. His hand slid from underneath hers, dropping to his side.

“John? Are you alri--”

“Let’s get you home, ok?” he said, hoping to hide the blush he could feel creeping up his face.

Yona smiled, “Sounds great to me.”

Twenty minutes later they arrived at the entrance to Yona’s neighborhood. It was quiet along this road, and a single street lamp flickered on the corner. Yona hopped down from the hovercycle which was still suspended a foot in the air, then lifted her helmet to hold out for John to take.

“Thanks for the ride, John. Sorry you were stuck with me for so long.”

The man took the helmet from her and fit it over his head, “Oh, it was no problem. It was an honor to escort a Conduit, and besides; guarding the Wall is important but can be--” he looked both ways and dropped his voice to a whisper, “--kind of boring.” Yona laughed lightly and it made him smile.

“Yea, but I think I’ve had enough excitement to last me a while, now,” she brushed a strand of hair from her eyes and looked past the rows of apartments into the complex, “My dad is probably planning my funeral right now, he’s gonna pass out from shock when he realizes I’m ok.”

“The Head probably had her assistants notify your family after confirming your status. He knows you're alive, but no doubt he’s still anxious for you to get back.”

Yona looked back and John. who was now perched comfortably on the bike, his posture relaxed.

“See you around?”

“Maybe. We’ll see.”

“I hope I do see you, and soon,” she said, holding out her hand. John looked mildly surprised, but reached out and shook it firmly. With a wave goodbye, Yona turned around to start towards her apartment, but John’s voice called out,

“Hey. Whatever happens going forward, stay Yona, alright?”

Yona paused and faced him, confusion painted plainly on her face.

“I mean…” he started feeling embarrassment creeping over him, “Don’t let. Your new status. Change you. There are too many bloated egos in Atlas, and you’re too nice a person to fall into that crowd.”  _ Stupid stupid shut up, John. _

__ Yona smiled widely before answering, “You don’t have to worry about that, I promise. Goodbye, John.”

“O-oh. Well, good. Goodbye, Yona.”

As Yona walked away she heard the loud hum of John’s hovercycle speeding away until it faded into the quiet night air. Shadowed figures of apartments lined either side of the street, their windows dark, until she reached the one apartment with a single window lit brightly on the fifth floor. She smiled to herself as she approached the lobby door and ran her wrist to the scanner. Two beeps and a click and the doors retracted open to embrace her; Yona stepped through.


	6. Chapter 5

The clock on her nightstand read twelve o’clock by the time Yona finally made it to her bed. Dee and her dad had greeted her at the door, teary-eyed and full of questions. There was a lot of hugging. After being assured that Yona was not, in fact, a specter, Yona went to her room to switch out her tattered work jumpsuit for a tank top and blue pajama pants. She’d felt guilty at seeing their tear-streaked faces and puffy eyes--they had to have been mourning her death up until the past hour. Yona had joked with John about her dad planning her funeral, but felt a twist of pain at realizing her joke was probably true. And right after she’d promised him she’d be careful.

After that she’d settled in the living room, Dee taking the floor while she sat one the couch by her dad. He sat too close, one hand clutching her own tightly as if she were actually a vision that might fade away. She squeezed his hand reassuringly. Shortly after a torrent of questions followed.

“You were attacked by an MP and lived?”

“You walked all the way back from the Primordial Forest?”

“A Head’s assistant contacted me earlier, what in the world did the Seven want to do with you?”

“Have you eaten at all since this morning? I brought some extra food home from the Distribution Center if you’re hungry.”

Between mouthfuls of cold chicken and green beans Yona recounted as best as she could of the day’s events, from waking up with an MP in her body to John dropping her off outside. Dismay plastered itself on her father’s face throughout the whole retelling, while Dee’s passed through worry, intrigue, anger, and mischievousness at the mention of her and John’s interactions.

“So you totally got that cute Guard’s ID number, right?” Dee asked, wriggling her eyebrows.

“Dee, my daughter could’ve and you’re worried about her love life? What’s wrong with you?...But you didn’t get his ID, right teddy bear?” He looked at her with the most ridiculous puppy dog eyes she’d ever seen and laughed.

“No, and I don’t think he was interested anyways. This whole day was so crazy I’m sure that romance was the  _ last  _ thing on his mind--what?” Yona paused and cast a confused look ay Dee, who was rolling her eyes hard.

“Sevens, you’re dense. Guys always make space to think about romance. I betcha he took one look at that pretty face of yours and started calculating ways to get in your pants.”

“ _ Denise.” _

__ “Sorry Mr. S.” She hadn’t looked very sorry.

“Look, do you want to talk about some non-existent romance with a Guard or about the fact that I’m a freaking  _ Conduit  _ now? Because I’m still reeling from that one and I’ve known it the longest out of anybody.”

“Yes, let’s talk about that, please,” her dad had said, casting Dee an annoyed glance, “what does this mean for you? For us? Is it... _ hurting  _ you?” He said, looking at her hand still clasped in his. He ran his thumb back and forth under her palm. A frown creased his brow, as if trying to see the alien that had melded with her skin.

Yona had sat her empty plate down.

“I’m not sure exactly. And no, I don’t think so. It doesn’t have any power over me, or at least it seems that way.”

That was hours ago, and after seeing Dee home and wishing her dad goodnight, Yona now lay in the bed of her small room, eyes cast towards the dark ceiling. What came next, after tonight? A part of her didn’t want to fall asleep yet, didn’t want the answer to come with the rays of the sun peeking through her blinds. But now, in the comfort of her dad’s apartment, her whole body ached and her eye lids weighed heavily. Making the decision to delay sleep a little longer, Yona focused on the faint presence of the MP she felt nestled in the back of her mind.

_ Are you awake? _

Nothing.

_ C’mon, answer me. I know you’re there. _

**I am awake. As long as. You are.** It’s voice sounded how sandpaper felt, and sent an involuntary shiver down her back. 

_ Good, because I have some questions for you.  _ The Ooze communicated a kind of heavy sigh. Yona took is as a queue to continue,  _ Why did you attack me? _

**Why did human girl. Eat chicken? I need. Food. Too.**

“That’s fair, I guess.” She said aloud into the room, and felt embarrassed.

_ I mean. That’s fair. But why people? There’s a whole forest of creatures out there, and you choose the only ones with blasters.  _ She waited to hear the scratching voice of the creature, but all she got was a stubborn kind of silence.

_ Alright, then...A different question. _

**Does not. The stupid human girl. Need sleep?**

_ My  _ name  _ is Yona. And now I have two questions for you. Answer them and then we’ll both get some sleep. I promise. _

**...Fine.**

_ What should I call you? I know this situation isn’t exactly ideal for either of us, but I feel strange about having conversations with another...being...without even knowing who you are. _

**My kind do not. Take names. Lone creatures.**

_ Ok, fine. If you’re gonna be like that then I’ll find a name for you. I’ll get back to you on that. Alright,second question,  _ extending a hand up towards the ceiling, Yona flexed her fingers and a faint blue color rippled beneath the surface of her skin,  _ why did you want me to leave the forest and make it back to Atlas? You tried to kill me, why want to save me? _

**I am you. Now. We are Together. You die. I die. Other MPs. Do not want. That we. Are Together. I do not want to help human. Want to. Help self. We sleep now. You promise. Talking hard.**

_ Fine, fine...you big baby. I’ll sleep now. _

_ Knock knock knock.  _ Muted noises from outside her room woke Yona from her fitful sleep.Her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room around her until her eyes fell on the red numbers shining from her alarm clock. They read 6:30, a full hour before she’d intended on waking up. 

Groaning, Yona propped herself up on her elbows and squinted out into the dark room. From the hallway outside she heard her dad’s door swing open, followed by heavy footsteps that disappeared further into the apartment. The faintest sound of the front door opening reached her ears along with the sound of a familiar voice. Yona strained her ears to hear:

“Laborer fifteen...three. Your daughter’s….has been request...the Seven. She is to be...ed to the Palace immediately.”

Though she knew this was probably going to happen, she couldn’t help but feel anxious as her heart beat loudly in her chest. The Seven? Already? They certainly didn’t want to be kept waiting. Her father seemed to mirror her concern.

“May...thrive...s early? She jus….home! I haven’t….goodbye,” her dad’s voice, heavy with sleep, still sounded panicked, “Will she be….later?”

“You question….even’s orders?” Even muffled through several layers of drywall the Guard sounded angry. Her dad stammered back an unintelligible response and soon the sound of hurried footsteps started making their way towards her door. Yona had already swung her legs over the side of the bed when a tentative knock beat at her door.

“Yona? Teddy Bear?” his voice sounded strained, and she bit her lip, “Are you awake? The S-Seven...they’re--”

“I heard, dad,” she interrupted before tears could sting the corners of her eyes, “Tell them I’ll be out in two minutes.”

There was silence from the door as Yona stood up from the bed and walked over to her closet door, then, “Ok Teddy Bear. I’ll let the Guard know.” Yona listened for his retreating footsteps to pad further down the hall before she let out a shuddering breath and threw open the closet door.

Once fitted in a new blue jumpsuit and rubber boots, Yona made her way to the door, left hand absently clawing her mess of thick black hair into submission. Dad seemed to have turned on all the lights in the house and was perched uneasily on the couch with the Guard standing nearby, her blaster slung over her shoulder. In the back of her mind the MP snarled,  **_Her._ ** **Shooter.**

Its anger seemed to latch onto Yona and she frowned, arms coming defensively up to cross her chest, “It’s you."

Yona hadn't meant for her words to spew forth so harshly, dripping with venom, but they did. The intensity of the sudden wave of anger surprised her. Maybe it was the MP nestled deep in the back of her consciousness, fueling her frustration at the whole situation.

The woman standing in the middle of the living room was none other than the guard who’d been stationed at her turret the day before. Now her dark red hair was pulled back into a tight bun. She tensed at Yona’s words but if she was planning on snapping something clever back she held her tongue. Yona raised an eyebrow questioningly. People sure learned manners fast now that she was a Conduit.

With a heavy sigh, Yona relaxed her arms and let them fall to her side. “I’m sorry. I know you did the best you could. The past day has just been...stressful, to say the least.”

The Guard gave her a curt nod and seemed to relax, though now she seemed confused. “I’m sure. Nevertheless, I apologize deeply for letting you get taken. My job is to protect all of Atlas’ citizens, and I failed you,” the Guard cast her face towards the ground, her fists clenched tightly at her sides, “I seem to be doing that a lot lately.” That last part was said mostly to herself, but Yona still caught it.

“Hey,” Yona crossed the space in front of them quickly and placed a hand on her shoulder. The woman flinched. Yona uttered an apology and widthrew her hand and the woman looked up to meet her gaze.

“Hey,” she repeated, softly this time, “I’m alive now, alright? And a Conduit, to boot. Talk about a major promotion. Besides, Ooze are ambush predators--it’s hard to kill them when they have the drop on you.” The Guard's face lightened, but her mouth was pressed in a firm line.

“ Yona Smith, the Seven have requested an audience with you at the Palace. I am to escort you to them immediately. You can...you can say goodbye to Laborer fiftee--I mean your father. I will be waiting outside. Please be swift,” the younger girl said quickly, nodding to Yona before exiting the apartment. Yona waited until she heard the faint  _ click  _ of the door closing before turning around to pull her dad into a tight hug. He mumbled something in surprise and quickly returned the gesture, arms locking tightly around his one and only child.

Choking back the emotion threatening to overcome her, Yona spoke quietly into his chest, "I don't know when I'll get to see you again, but I'll message you as soon as I can, ok?" Her dad smiled, a tired look on his face.

"I know you will, Teddy Bear. Please be safe," he gently tugged at her arms and held her at arm's length; he could see tears brimming just behind her eyelids, and he wondered if he had the same look on his face. It certainly felt like it, "Whatever your future holds, you'll always be my baby. Don't forget that." Afraid of speaking for threat of tears, Yona smiled before hugging the man again. After some time, she pulled back and hastily straightened out her outfit.

“Alright, I’d better go now. Don’t want to keep the Seven waiting.”

“No, you definitely don’t want that.” They made their way to the front door where her dad opened it for her; the Guard outside turned slightly as the motion and offered a small, if strained, smile.

“Ready to go?”

“I think so,” Yona said.

“Alright, then let’s get moving.” The redhead took up a quick pace down the hallway, leaving Yona to catch up. She cast one last glance at her dad before turning and jogging lightly after her.

Outside was dark, dimly lit by a few streetlamps and the paling moon. The beginnings of dawn crept slowly up behind tall silhouettes of the surrounding apartment buildings. High in the sky, the ever-present rift gaped open like a festering wound, but offered no light. Up and down the street small groups of Laborers were leaving their homes for work, but most of the windows were dark with sleeping occupants. This neighborhood consisted mostly of Wall Laborers like she used to be, but there were others who had jobs that required them to wake before most of Atlas’ citizens. Yona looked on at the sleepy labor force until a polite cough from her left reminded her that she had an appointment to keep. 

The Guard was waiting in front of the building, holding open the door of a black hovercar and waiting for the Conduit to enter. Yona yelped a quick apology before stepping forward and ducking into the vehicle. The door closed, and Yona watched the woman’s figure through the windows walk around to the driver’s side. In one smooth motion she was sitting down and pulling the seatbelt across her chest, then held out her wrist to be scanned before the hovercar hummed to life. Yona was mildly startled at the sensation of being lifted several feet off the ground and she jerked slightly with the sudden movement of the car moving to pull a u-turn.

As the car left the neighborhood, Yona cleared her throat and smiled shyly at the younger girl seated next to her.

“So…” she started, suddenly very anxious, “My name is Yona...what can I call you?”

The Guard blinked, apparently surprised at the question.

“Uh. Grey. Allysa Grey,” she grunted. Her knuckles tightened on the steering wheel, “You can just call me Grey.”

Grey? The name sounded familiar, though Yona couldn’t quite place why. “Ok. Alright then, Grey,” Yona replied, attempting a friendly smile. Allysa didn’t respond, instead leaning slightly forward in her seat. The dark-haired girl took this to mean that the Guard wasn’t much for talking, so she instead turned her attention towards the city passing by out the window. Where they were now was familiar to her. They were on the main road that led to the Food Distribution Center. It was lined mostly with shorter glass buildings, multi-storied structures that served many purposes, from small apartments to storage facilities to restaurants and outlets. About a block before they reached the FDC, Allysa slowed the car and made a right turn, leading them deeper into the city proper. Wall Laborers had very little reason to stray from their normal routes; the deeper into Atlas you went the more expensive the stores got, the more luxurious the foods. 

Yona rarely partook of the stores available to her stretch on the South Side to begin with. When her work suits wore out she bought new ones, when her stomach growled she spent her rations. Most of the credits she saved up from work were spent sparingly and on special occasions, or when Dee insisted that she needed to “have a self care day” outside of work. The truth was, she really just wasn’t as interested in material goods as her bubbly blond friend. She found fulfillment in her job and her family, and didn’t care for much else in general. Yona felt her chest tighten at the thought of Dee, and mentally brought up the watch application in her wrist implant; the blue holographic letters read seven fifteen. Dee was likely still asleep.

Yona closed the app and continued looking out at the city blurring by. They had officially crossed into territory that was completely foreign her. The sun was finally making its ascent into the sky, light hues of blue fading into pink and casting light on the shadows of Atlas. They passed a clothing store called  _ Blazers  _ in aggressive electric blue letters, and a restaurant on the right whose outdoor seating looked more expensive than anything in her tiny apartment. She noticed that there were little to no signs of Wastrel presence in this area, and what few stalls being deconstructed for the day were made of far nicer materials than the ramshackle lean-tos she was used to seeing.

_ Even the  _ trash  _ here is better. _

Allysa made a few more turns until Yona realized that the buildings around them were slowly rising higher and higher, and despite the steadily climbing sun the hovercar was thrown into darkness by towering skyscrapers that lined the streets beside them. By now the streets were alive with people and other hover vehicles, though vastly different from the usual crowds of jumpsuit-clad Laborers and Guards and transport vehicles. No, most people along the egg-white sidewalks wore suits and dresses, smart-looking outfits that seemed wildly impractical for any kind of labor that Yona was used to. Mixed in with the wealthier crowd were occasional groups of Laborers, their jumpsuits dull blues against the vibrant colors of the rest of the inhabitants, gazes downcast. Movements quick and purposeful.

_ Likely Laborers for offices and stores. _

Even the hovercars around them in traffic were nice, sleek and obviously built for show. Yona was sure that any of the sports hovercars or tricked out hoverbikes would break if ever loaded with more than a few passengers, and their gaudy paintjobs seemed like an enormous waste of credits and resources.

She must have been making a funny face because her thoughts were interrupted by the sharp voice of Allysa, “Flashy right?" Yona perked up, unsure of why the Guard decided to talk but grateful for the break in silence. She nodded and tilted her head, encouraging her to keep going.

The guard huffed, "More than most Wall Laborers ever see, anyways. Welcome to Inner Atlas, where the best of the hierarchy live their lives. A lot of them have never even seen the Wall up close.”

Never seen the wall? Yona couldn’t recall a memory without the Wall’s presence looming in the background.

“Yea. Flashy,” she said, eyes scanning an upcoming Laborer apartment. Unlike her dwelling, this building’s bricks stood out handsomely with a fresh coat of paint. “Everything is so...shiny. And new.” From the corner of her eye she saw Grey nod.

“Yep, that’s Inner Atlas, for ya. The residents don’t want to be reminded of the fact that this city is dying,” she spat. Yona flinched at her words. They weren’t supposed to talk about that. The Seven made their displeasure very clear when they starved their lowest citizens for spreading gossip. “They keep their streets clean and their buildings shiny--using up valuable material the Exploration Teams bring back, not giving two shits about  _ conserving  _ their precious city," her eyes had darkened and her face was twisted in a mean smile, "Doesn't matter who dies in the process."

In that moment the pieces clicked together in Yona's head--a new Guard, the red hair, her name--and she looked over at Allysa with concern. Allysa Grey-- Yona didn't care much for gossip, but even she had heard of the failed expedition two weeks ago that ended with the deaths of three of Atlas' best Explorers. But how did she end up a Guard? Wouldn't she still be considered an Explorer? Whatever had happened, the girl seemed to exist in a permanent state of agitation, and if the incident had affected Luca badly, she could only begin to imagine how Allysa was taking it.

Yona stored the information away, choosing to keep the revelation to herself. Allysa was still talking, and she tuned back into the one-sided conversation.

"--Doctors, Scientists, and Teachers that live here . A smattering of Laborers with less labor-intensive duties.”

"I-I'm sorry, but I zoned out for a second, there. What were you saying?" The redhead looked at her with annoyance.

"Well should I even talk if you're not gonna listen?" She bristled.

"No! No I was listening, it's just," she gestured vaguely at the passing scenery, "It's a lot to take in, you know? The scenery, the situation…" Yona let some of her weariness peak through her usual chipper façade, "It's all just a lot."

At this the Guard's anger immediately sputtered out, and the mean look on her face relaxed into a blank expression.

"Sorry. I overstepped my bounds _.  _ Please forgive me."

Yona deflated a bit in her seat; the Guard had finally started opening up to her and she blew it. Whatever hardwired adherence to the Hierarchy had kicked in again, leaving Yona with a reserved chauffeur. Stupid brain, getting away from her like that.

**I agree. Human brain. Stupid.**

_ You don't get an opinion. _


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! So quick note: I have finals underway and I will be dealing with them up until Tuesday. The result is I haven't really been able to write much, so for those of you who are also reading my bnha fic, WADF I guess this update serves dual serves as an update on that, haha 😅
> 
> But once Tuesday passes I'll have another chapter for this up and hopefully one for WAFD by the end of the week! That's all--
> 
> Enjoy~

Not long after, the turns they were taking decreased in number, until Yona realized that all of the streets were converging into one enormous stretch of road with five lanes on either side. Just as quickly as the enormous buildings appeared they dropped away, glass and steel replaced with thoughtful landscaping. The huge road stretching before them curved sharply, rounding out into a gradual circle. Yona gasped when she realized they had arrived.

"The Palace…" Some part of her balked at the extravagance of the structure, but in the moment her frustration was swept away by the grandeur of the view.

Encircled by the curving road was a vast plaza. She stretched forward to look over to her left past Allysa to see trees, spanning and well-kept passing by. Past them she could make out sidewalks and benches, expansive tracks of bright green grass and far in the distance a glimpse of a fountain--but the most impressive thing was the towering structure that erupted into the sky at the plaza's center. 

From the car Yona couldn't see the top of the building, but she could certainly make out the wide, sweeping steps that led up to a grand entrance. People in their expensive outfits dotted the space, the ones closest to the great steps but blurry figures in the distance. Though the sun was still rising, it's reflection twinkled brightly on large gleaming windows. In fact, the whole building, from where she could see, was reflecting the pinks and blues of the sky so that the building almost disappeared entirely, if not for the rest of the city standing out behind it.

The hovercar continued to make its way along the wide curving road, following the flow of traffic. Eventually, they had driven around to the north-facing side of the plaza. Allysa made her way to the outermost lane and took an exit ramp that rose above the enormous circle before forming a small bridge that touched down on the inside of the plaza. The road abruptly angled down, burrowing deep into the earth. Inside the hovercar Yona watched quietly as they made their way through the underground tunnel, eventually leading up to a Guard point. Just past the security point looked to be a parking garage and Yona absently clutched at her seatbelt. This was it. They were here. Somewhere in this building the Seven were waiting for her, and the thought made her dizzy with worry.

"You alright over there, Smith? You look like you're gonna blow chunks."

“Huh?” Yona snapped out of her reverie and looked over at the redhead, “Uh, yea. I’m fine, thank you though.” 

**Liar.**

_ Hush, you. _

Allysa looked skeptical but didn’t press the matter. A few moments later they were pulling up to the Guard station. Allysa pulled the car forward up to a window and held out her wrist to be scanned. A beep signaled and the arm blocking the entrance lurched upward to allow them entry. The parking spaces along the first floor were taken, as was the second and the third. On the fourth floor Allysa swung out to snag a spot at the end of a long row of cars and parked, the car shuddering slightly as the magnetic system died and it gently lowered to the ground.

The Guard was outside the car and waiting impatiently as Yona fumbled with her seatbelt. The older girl smiled nervously and Allysa resisted the urge to roll her eyes. This was by far the strangest Conduit she’d ever met; inexperienced, distracted, and weirdly friendly. It was hard to put up with, but she wasn’t about to risk getting on her bad side anymore than she likely was.

“Alright, this way,” Allysa said. She took off towards the elevators at a brisk pace. Behind her she heard the sound of rubber boots on concrete as the Conduit took after her. Four doors stood at the opposite end of the parking garage; the third was the one to open. Three people, Scientists based on their crisp white coats, were already in the large space. One had her face buried in a book and the other two young men cast them judgemental glances as they entered. Yona waved nervously and they looked confused, but offered small waves back. Allysa watched the interaction and scoffed internally. 

The walls of the elevator were glass, though there wasn’t much to look at from the parking deck. Yona stood self-consciously, leaning slightly against the far wall and yelped when the concrete walls dropped beneath them and they rose up into a spacious lobby. A disembodied voice notified them that they had arrived at the ground floor and the doors slid open to let the Scientist with her nose in a book out. A grand room spread out in front of them. The lobby was sprawling. It was hard not to press her face against the glass in awe. Glossy marble tiled the floor,coming together in a small fountain at the center of the room. At least a hundred people meadered about, some chatting in small groups from luxurious velvet couches, others rushing about to unknown destinations. Ornate black and gold wallpaper filled in the walls that weren’t occupied by enormous arched windows, and if Yona focused hard enough she could see the sprawling plaza through the tinted window panes. Near the entrance was a reception desk manned by a Laborer placed in front of an artificial waterfall that reached several stories up. Upon following the enormous wall of water up Yona realized that the walls rose up, up, up about one hundred feet, before cutting off abruptly at a ceiling adorned with hundreds of shifting LED lights.The elevator shafts themselves passed up through the ceiling of shifting light, promising even loftier destinations.

She couldn’t help it when a tiny squeal made it past her lips. Okay, so maybe the opulence was  _ kinda  _ impressive. Yona shut her jaw as quickly as she may, feeling her face burn bright red at the looks the other three passengers were giving her. With a slight jerk, the elevator continued its ascent.

“First time in the Palace, Laborer?” One of the Scientists asked, amusement painted clearly on his face. Yona fumbled for words.

“Ah, yes, actually. The biggest structure I’ve ever seen is the Wall, and this building is just so big and... _ fancy _ ,” she breathed, color rising to her cheeks. The building's blatant disregard for constraint be dammed--she was enjoying being washed up in the extravagance. As they rose higher and higher, Yona continued her conversation with the two Scientists and Allysa listened in. Allysa pursed her lips; it was clear that the two men were following along in a very condescending manner, but the anxious and wonder-struck Conduit was too friendly to realize. She wasn’t sure why, but it was beginning to annoy her. Around the tenth floor Allysa broke into the conversation,

“Yona, why don’t you tell these two why you’re so far from the South Side?” The two men shot hard stares at her, annoyed at having been interrupted by a Guard. One of them opened their mouths to respond harshly but Yona beat them to it,

“Oh, right. That’s probably a lot more interesting. I’m actually here to attend a meeting with the Seven,” she said, and whatever words he had ready died in his throat. His companion next to him responded,

“What do the Seven want with  _ you _ ?”

“She’s a new-born Conduit,” Allysa answered for her, and watched with nasty glee when the color drained from their faces. Lurching to a stop, the automatic voice of the elevator announced that they had reached the twelfth floor. The two of them stammered rushed excuses and bolted as soon as the doors slid open. Allysa laughed at the sight of them stumbling over each other to put as much distance between themselves and Yona as quickly as possible.

"What'd you do that for?"

Alyssa bristled and pulled her arms closer towards her chest, "they were assholes, and you didn't even notice. It was getting annoying." By now they were passing up through the glittering ceiling and up to the 14th floor. Here the glass walls of the shaft turned opaque, obscuring the view of the passing floor.

"I  _ did  _ notice, I just didn't mind," Yona huffed back. 

The redhead growled and turned to face Yona, "Well you  _ should  _ mind. They have no right to talk to you like that. Hell, you shouldn't even  _ really  _ be talking to  _ me _ . Why don't you seem to get that?" She said, her voice rising in pitch. What was wrong with this woman, so disgustingly sweet? It made her blood boil. She opened her mouth to say more but stopped at the expression crossing her escort's face.

Her mouth began forming an apology before she could help it, "I'm sorry I said that, I forgot my place. Please forgiv--"

"You know, I've only just come into this role. I've been a Wall Laborer all my life,  _ treated _ like a Wall LIaborer all my life," she began, cutting her off, " don't care how they talk to me because at least th2×ey're being authentic. Ever since I've become this," she gestured vaguely to her body, "all the higher ups, even the ones who are ××just-@#barely above us lowly Laborers have been so incredibly nice, so sickly sweet, so quick to change their attitude. It's gross. It's disingenuous. You realize that you were one of those 'assholes' just yesterday, right? Cold, condescending, and outright rude. I'm still the person you knew twenty four hours ago, and suddenly because I have some parasite attached to me you expect me to act any different?" The elevator announced that they had reached the thirtieth floor, and the door opened to receive a woman dressed in an emerald green pants suit. Yona made space for the woman to enter and saddled up next to Allysa.

"So stop apologizing, and stop acting so reserved. You clearly have a problem with me, but I'd rather experience that than any fake emotion. At least in the _ car _ you were genuine," she whispered fiercely before turning away from the younger woman, whose face was flushed red from being chastised.

The rest of the ride up was silent, and empty after the woman in green got off on the forty-second floor. Yona counted another thirty seconds before the voice announced they had reached the eightieth floor, and Yona stepped out before the Guard could motion her forward. Allysa frowned, and followed suit. Once outside the elevator Yona could feel the floor beneath her feet swaying slightly, causing both her and the MP a vague unease.

In front of them stretched a single hallway with no windows, a black tiled floor contrasting stark-white walls. There was no indication of other rooms, save for an ornately carved black door at the end of the hallway. A small scanner was implanted in the wall adjacent to it. Yona tried to take a step forward but found her feet glued to the spot. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something inside felt increasingly anxious about approaching the room.

"What're you waiting for?" Yona jumped at the sharp voice of the younger girl behind her. Taking a glance back, she saw Allysa standing just behind her, foot tapping impatiently, "Where's that confident Conduit that told me off a few minutes ago? They're not gonna bite."

“Are you coming with me?”

Allysa tsked, “They called for you, not me. But I’ll be waiting outside. Just walk up to the door and scan your wrist. I’m sure they already have you in the system.” With that, the redhead seemed to have nothing else to say. She was already fiddling with some app on her wrist, attentioned turned away from the hesitant figure in front of her. Oh well. No use keeping the Seven waiting any longer than they already had.

Yona straightened up and turned to face the ornate door at the end of the hall. Walking briskly, she began making her way towards its imposing figure, ignoring the feeling of dread building up with each step. The hall was eerily quiet, save for the hum of the fluorescent lights above her head and the squeak of her rubber soles against the tiled floor. She came to a pause before the door and held out her wrist to the scanner. A blue ray of light emitted from the device and beeped its approval. In front of her the door swung open in a sudden, fluid motion that seemed too swift for the heavy-looking object. 

The room on the other side was large and well lit; Yona stepped through. Immediately the nagging sensation of fear increased tenfold. She startled when the door slammed closed behind her, and she stared out into the open room. Yona took a breath to calm her heart which was trying in earnest to tear itself from her chest. 

The walls on the far wall were lined completely with large windows overlooking the plaza and Atlas. In front of the windows sat a long and curved desk of a kind of dark purply wood not unlike the alien fauna found outside the Wall. It curved, concave to the door Yona had stepped through and inclined towards the center so that the middle of the desk was several feet up from the ground. The overall effect threw a huge shadow across the room from where the sun was positioned in the sky, swathing the entrance where she stood in darkness and obscuring the faces of the people that sat along it. Yona froze when she noticed the people; there they were, The Seven. All sitting in their lofty thrones that overlooked the solitary city.

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness the shadow cast and their faces came into view. The Conduit knew them well--even the citizens lowest on the hierarchical ladder were educated on the Seven, taught from a very young age to put their collective existence on a golden pedestal. Though their names were carved into metal plaques beneath their respective seats Yona knew which was which. From left to right they sat; Sevens Green, Stone, Watkins, Freedman, Heartwell, Nguyen, and Gonzales. Each in charge of an aspect of Atlas, each in control of a vital function that kept their city alive in this ruined world. Yona must have looked as intimidated as she felt, because the woman in the middle--Sevens Amanda Freedman--cleared her throat. Yona jumped to life and quickly made her way forward.

In the back of her mind Yona vaguely recollected the way they were taught in school to address the Seven should they ever find themselves in their presence. Yona threw her gaze to the ground and stood ramrod straight, feet together. 

“I hold you thrive,” she said hurriedly, keeping her eyes on the floor beneath her. It was the same empty black as the hallway outside.

“Enough with that,” a harsh voice snapped at her. Yona flinched, “Look at me, Yona Smith.” The voice was unyielding, cold. Commanding. All at once the panic surged back as the MP in the back of her mind reeled. 

**Bad. Badba dbad ba d ba d ba--**

She breathed deeply to clear the frenzied speaking. Yona looked up towards the source of the voice, squinting slightly at the harsh sunlight shining behind the Seven. The speaker was once again Sevens Freedman, and her steely grey eyes were trained directly at the young girl. Yona knew the old Conduit was getting up there in years, but from atop her throne Seven Freedman looked every bit the fierce soldier she had proved herself to be, if the MP panicking in her head wasn’t sign enough. Her greying hair was shorn close to her skull, and the woman had on no makeup that Yona could see. From what Yona could tell she wore a sleeveless black combat suit that showed off prominent shoulder muscles and biceps beneath smooth black skin. Yona shivered beneath her steely stare. She lifted her head quickly and stared back at the speaker.

“We don’t have all day, so I’m going to make this brief,” Freedman began, lacing her fingers together, “We have been alerted to your condition, and discussed your future at length prior to today’s meeting. Yours is a rare situation, Yona Smith, but very fortunate for you. It’s not everyday a Laborer finds themselves at the upper end of the hierarchy,” The Conduit shifted forward in her seat, “And not everyday a latent Conduit is realized.”

Where was she going with this?   
“As of today, you have been reassigned to a housing unit here in the Palace. You are to move here at once, and begin training at AUE with graduating Conduits so that you may serve Atlas beyond the Wall, as all good Conduits do.” 

From the pit of her stomach Yona felt a sinking sensation as the Seven’s words registered in her brain. She was expecting this, but not so soon. She was already moved? Training already? 

“Um, I’m sorry,” her voice sounded very small in her ears, “But this is all happening now? Today?”

This time the one to answer her was the man sitting two seats over from Sevens Freedman, “Yes. Despite our best efforts, I’m sure word has made it through the city that all is not well outside of Atlas,” Morgan Stone began. Though no one spoke out at his words, Yona noticed the tension in the room deepen, “We are not in the position to waste any time training Explorer teams. Especially when we have a promising Conduit.

“The process of binding with an MP is a deadly one. Not all Conduit candidates survive the selection. It is especially  _ interesting  _ that a Wall Laborer would have the genes susceptible to the process, much less live through such a stressful turning. The university is very interested in you, Miss Smith.” The man looked down at Yona from his seat, and she squirmed under her gaze. It felt like she was being sized up for a meal. Along the podium-like desk the Seven nodded in silent agreement. Any protest to the situation died in her throat. It looked like she would have no say in the matter. They had made up their minds long before she had arrived, and no one could question the decision of the Seven once they had spoken.

It was Sevens Freedman who broke the silence, “That will be all for now, Yona Smith. Your audience is no longer required by us and any and all questions will be addressed by--”

“Actually, I would have a word with the girl about her education personally, Amanda.” All eyes shifted to look at the small blond woman seated next to Sevens Freedman. 

Sevens Freedman considered. “Very well, Lizza. Dismissed,” the old Conduit said after a tense moment. All at once, the Sevens rose from their seats and began to file down from either sides of the crescent-shaped structure. Yona stood, still trembling from the ordeal, as they disappeared through doors on either side of the room. Yona felt the odd stare burning her back as they left, and soon they were gone. She sighed heavily once Sevens Freedman left the room, her MP calming down considerably. The transition was swift; at once Yona was left in the spacious room with Sevens Lizza Heartwell. She was an older woman with curly, dirty blond hair done up in a sloppy bun at the top of her head. She wore a brown knee-length coat over what looked to be a black tank top tucked into tan slacks. She looked oddly...normal.

What did she want? Why in the world would she want to speak to Yona about something as normal as her education? She was positive that the Seven would have droves of assistants at their disposal to handle any non-pressing issues. Suspicious but compliant, Yona stood still and watched the woman walk towards her. Lizza Heartwell was small in stature, barely meeting Yona’s shoulder; nonetheless, it was hard not to calm the panic quickly rising in her chest.

**Threat is gone. Why human girl scared?**

_ I’ll explain later. _

The blond woman stopped a few feet away from Yona. She looked up at Yona through thick black-rimmed glasses, her mouth pressed into a thin line. Yona said nothing, afraid that her voice would fail her if she tried. Several beats of silence passed between them before the older woman broke out into a gentle smile and held out a hand to the young Conduit. Yona blinked. She looked at the hand extended towards her before hesitantly reaching out to take the small pale hand in her own.

“Now don’t be so shy, dear, I’m not going to eat you,” she said easily, shaking her hand firmly.

Yona sputtered, “Ah, no I know that. If anyone would it would probably be Sevens Stone.” Immediately she slapped a hand over her mouth. Lizza barked out a shrill laugh.

“Ha! Yes, Morgan is a horrible people-person. Sorry if he spooked you earlier--most people are intimidated by him. It’s very rare that Conduits exist outside of Atlas’ breeding programs. Honestly he’s probably itching to learn more about your genes. Anywho,” the woman clasped her hands behind her back, “ I’m sure you’re curious as to why I want to speak with you personally. As you know, I oversee education in our fine city--who learns what, education levels, graduation requirements and all that--and I wanted to speak with you personally. Oh but where are my manners, making you stand here. Please, walk with me.” She said. Yona started to respond but the woman was already turned and walking towards one of the doors the others had left through. She quickly followed.

It was easy to see why she hadn’t noticed the doors before; they were seamless and white, blending completely into the walls. As Sevens Heartwell approached they slid backwards and up into the wall, revealing a long glass hallway. Yona hesitated at the door. Beyond the stretch of hallway she was mutely aware of Sevens Freedman's presence;  _ threat _ radiated out in waves from where she was.

The small woman looked back and quirked an eyebrow, “What are you waiting for, dear? We haven’t got all day.”

“Yes! Of course. I’m sorry, I’m still not used to having a neighbor in here,” she tapped her temple, “And for some reason it’s terrified of Sevens Freedman,” she finished sheepishly. Sevens Heartwell hummed thoughtfully.

“Ah, yes, that makes sense. I forget Conduits have that kind of awareness. I apologize, my dear, but that will not do. Amanda won’t hurt you. I’ll have to ask that you push through it and follow me.” She turned and hurried down the hall, leaving no room for arguments. Yona bit her lip and pushed forward.

_ I’m going to need you to calm down, please. She won’t hurt us; Sevens Heartwell said so.  _ The MP conveyed a sense of reluctant acceptance, and Yona sighed in relief when the coil in her stomach loosened some.

One one side of the hallway, windows lined the wall and looked out into Atlas, much like the previous room. On the other side were rooms. Yona realised that the previous hallway probably connected to them, but were likewise seamless. They must only open for the Seven. They walked quickly. Yona didn’t have enough time to note the insides of the rooms save for the fact that they were large and appeared to be for recreational purposes. After passing what looked to be a kitchen and a breakroom, Yona’s heart rate picked up when they reached offices. 

There were three; Yona saw Freedman and Stone in their respective rooms. The rest of the offices must be on the opposite end of the floor. She looked quickly ahead, trying to ignore their gaze. Though she wasn’t looking, Yona could tell Stone was giving her that look again, like he wanted to put her on a dissection table and see what made her tick. It didn’t help that her MP still hummed with anxiety from the other Conduit. Yona shivered. Heartwell’s office was at the end of the hallway, of course. The woman stepped inside and motioned for Yona to follow.

Once inside she called out, “Set office opacity to one hundred percent.” Immediately the glass walls around them dimmed to dull grey. Yona looked gratefully at her, then took a seat in front of a dark oak desk. Heartwell made her way around to the other side and sat down gracefully across from her.

“Now that’s much better, wouldn’t you say? Does your parasite agree?”

Yona nodded.

“Good. Sorry about my colleagues, Scientists and Conduits don’t make for normal company and they have about as much charm as a rock.” Heartwell laughed at her own comment and reclined back in her chair. Yona sat straight in her chair, wide-eyed. Bad-mouthing the Seven was an offense punishable by exile. 

“Oh, come now. You’re a Conduit, the only person who can get you in trouble is the one who’s poking fun in the first place,” Heartwell said, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the desk, “I never agreed with the pomp and circumstance surrounding us, you should know. It’s the others who care for that nonsense. As long as order is kept I could care less. Do you know who I work with, Yona Smith?” she asked, leaning further still.

Yona knew her mouth should move, but she wasn’t quite there yet. She shook her head instead.

“I work with the  _ people.  _ Not just Scientists, not just Conduits. I work with Laborers and Guards and Farmers and Wastrels because it is my firm belief that a stupid society is a doomed society. If it were up to the others, they would have shut down my education programs beneath Guards decades ago, but it’s a Teacher’s job to  _ teach,  _ and I make sure of that. But here I am, babbling--would you like to know why I brought you here, Yona Smith?” Her green eyes seemed to sparkle behind her glasses. Finding her voice, Yona answered.

“Yes ma’am, I would.”

“A polite Conduit! What an absolute treat you are,” she smiled, “I knew there was a reason I felt the need to talk to you personally. I want to explain what I have in mind for you in the coming year. AUE works much like the other Universities here in Atlas--with the exception of being up to multiple caste levels of course, but that’s besides the point--having three years of attendance. Now, I know that you opted not to attend University, despite being invited to my fine institution” she said, raising an eyebrow, inviting her to explain.

Yona straightened in her seat. Getting a letter of invitation to AUE felt like it was a lifetime ago, despite the fact that it was only three years prior. She never thought she would have to explain her decision to the woman in charge of it all.

“Ah, well. You see,” Yona started, rubbing her arm absently, “I knew AUE was the only chance I had to move up in the Hierarchy, but after. After my mom died…” she paused, the words tasting foul on her mouth, “After she died I knew I couldn’t leave. I couldn’t do that to my dad. So I turned it down, and started working instead.” she finished, the tight feeling in her chest loosening some.

In front of here the woman was nodding slowly, “A tragically common story for Wall Laborers these days, my dear. Though I believe you could have done better for yourself, I understand. I suppose it all worked out in the end, at least. And now, you have the opportunity to make sure no family knows that sorrow again, as a Conduit attending my school.” 

Yona nodded once, but she could feel impatience starting to gnaw at her. 

“Sevens Heartwell...why is it that you wanted to speak with me?”

“Ah yes, why…” Heartwell once more sat back in her chair, “My apologies, my dear, this old mind tends to ramble. 

“To get to the point: I’ve been trying to sort out how best to integrate you into AUE, as we need as many Conduits outside the Wall as soon as possible. The solution I came to is a bit unconventional, and I wanted you to hear the situation straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.

You will be attending classes alongside the graduating class, and will graduate alongside them this coming May.”

Yona stared at the woman, bug-eyed.

“May?  _ This  _ May? It’s February--”

Sevens Heartwell held up a hand, silencing her, “Which is why I have assigned you a tutor of sorts. We are not concerned with your academic ability as a Conduit, but rather your combat and field ability. As such, you will spend every moment outside of class either eating, sleeping, or training,” she looked almost sorry as she paused and tapped a thumb to her lip, “It will be grueling, without a doubt. You will be working with young adults who have had years to understand their abilities, but hopefully that will fuel your desire to catch up with them more.” Yona opened her mouth to counter that she didn’t really want to learn with them at  _ all _ . She dismissed the thought with a stern look from the woman.

“ My school will not go easy on you, Miss Smith. Despite my colleague’s attempts at shutting down rumors that would cause malcontent, I fear it is well known that the situation in Atlas is growing dire. Materials are getting scarce, Exploration teams stretched thin,” she grimaced, “MPs getting more...aggressive. We are working on finding a solution to these problems, but in the meantime we need as many Conduits and Explorers outside the Wall as possible.”

Yona was so focused on her words that she flinched when small, pale hands reached out and touched her own. Snapping back to attention, she met Heartwell’s intense green stare. "As a Wall Laborer, you already did so more than most. Now I’m afraid I must ask you to go even deeper into the fray. For that, I am deeply sorry.”


	8. Chapter 7

Yona was dismissed soon after. Relief flooded her senses when Sevens Heartwell proved her hypotheses correct; yes, the rooms in this hallway  _ did  _ in fact connect seamlessly with the one outside. 

Heartwell ushered her through the door with a small wave goodbye and at once Yona found herself once more in the long white hallway with Allysa. The Guard looked up at the sound of the door sliding shut and quit fiddling with her wrist app.

"That was longer than expected," the redhead offered. Her voice pitched at the end and Yona took a moment to process. Was Grey… _ starting a conversation _ ? 

Yona smiled shakily, "Didn't it? Sevens Heartwell wanted to speak to me personally about my arrangements. I've gotta be honest, they are much more intimidating than I thought they'd be."

Grey scoffed, "Were you expecting anything less?"

"No," Yona hummed thoughtfully, "But I wasn't ready for the MP in my head to react so violently to Sevens Freedman. So what happens now?" Her smile faltered, remembering that her dad's apartment was no longer her own.

"What happens now is I escort you to your new dwelling." The chip in her wrist beeped twice before projecting a screen's worth of information between them. "My chip was just updated with my instructions and your new address. You're a resident of the Palace, now, Smith."

"I guess we should get going then, huh?" Grey grunted confirmation before making her way back to the elevators. Yona followed. The two waited quietly while the elevator made its way back up the Palace's many floors.

"Hey, so. Since you want me to act normal with you 'an all...I gotta ask. What's it like sharing a brain with one of  _ them _ ?" Grey's question took Yona by surprise.

Her eyes looked to the counter above the doors as she considered her answer. Red numbers climbed steadily in number as the elevator ascended.

"It doesn't feel much different from normal, actually," she said, watching the number change from 56 to 57, "I don't think we're sharing my brain, so much as it occupies a small space. I can... _ feel _ it, though, if I concentrate. It's like. There's an added weight at the back of my brain that shouldn't be there."

The elevator was close, now, just passing 73. Grey grunted.

"I can speak to it." Yona said. At this the Guard whipped her head up to look at the raven-haired girl. Yona laughed, though it felt hollow, "I know? Weird, right? They never told us  _ that  _ in school. And sometimes it has really powerful reactions to what I'm experiencing, I guess? And it influences my own emotions. Like when I saw you this morning and I seemed really upset with you? That was the MP. Didn't take kindly to the fact that you shot it."

A soft  _ ping  _ rang out in the hallway, indicating that the elevator had reached them. The doors slid open and they stepped inside.

"Yea, well, the stupid thing shouldn't have showed its ugly mug at our Wall," Grey said, punching in floor 30, "I'd shoot it again if I could."

**Attack me. Without your guns. See who wins. Meatbag.**

_ Too late for that, now, isn't it? _

"Did it say somethin'? You made a face, it totally said somethin'." 

A grin pulled at Yona's lips, "Nothing worth repeating." The MP made an offended noise.

"Yea, I thought so," Grey said, looking smug. The elevator hummed gently around them as they dropped downwards. Grey seemed like she was finally in a good mood. Yona hated the thought of breaking that, but one question nagged at her mind and she didn't think she would have another chance to ask the Guard once she dropped her off.

"There was another time when its emotions projected on my own," she started. Grey raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Yea. Last night. On my way home from the Wall. One second I was fine, sitting on the back of a Guard's hovercycle, and the next thing I knew this intense feeling of danger drowned out everything around me. Even worse than Sevens Freedman did." They were close to their destination now; just 5 floors above it.

"Scared me half to death. It turned out to be another Conduit." At this Yona saw Grey slip from relaxed to tense, her shoulders squaring back.

"Another Conduit? Interesting." Her voice was tight. Yona took a deep breath. She pushed forward.

"Yea. I thought so too, after the initial shock was gone. He said his name was Russo." The reaction was instant. Any and all progress the redhead had made at being open shut down, her eyes going blank and mouth setting in a firm line. Yona rushed to speak as the voice signalled their arrival. Grey started forward, almost mechanically.

"The Guard with me said he was from the expedition that came back from an ambush two weeks ago. Russo, I mean. Most Laborers don't get news about stuff behind the Wall but Wall Laborers do. You were there, right? I mean," Yona had to start a light jog to keep up with the Guard. Yona noted briefly that the shorter girl could speed walk surprisingly fast, "You were the one who came back with him. The only remaining Backline Explorer of team Love. I'm sorry to ask, but how did you end up a Guard? What  _ happened _ out the--" Yona stopped and nearly fell over when Grey whirled around to face her. 

"Are you asking me as Yona Smith, or as a Conduit?" 

Yona's mouth hung open while the question turned over in her head. A part of her was vaguely aware that they had caught the attention of several passers-by in the large hallway. She ignored their stares and answered back slowly, quietly:

"I'm asking as someone who's going to be out there soon. I want to be prepared for whatever's thrown at me." 

Grey looked up at her, eyes glassy and hard. Yona refused to look away. Finally, her eyes lowered and the redhead spun back around and continued walking. Her pace was still brisk, but slow enough for Yona to walk once more.

"It was my first expedition. I was only out there for a week," she began. Her voice was soft but Yona could hear if she strained. They took a left down another hall.

"I was a Backline, and a good one. Top marks in my graduating class. They put me on Love's team. Said I 'showed promise'." She laughed but the sound was bitter.

"Everything was going so well. I don't know what happened. One minute we were fine and then the next--the next it was a massacre.

"MPs don't work together, or at least usually they don't. It was premeditated, well thought-out. Nothin' anyone had ever experienced before. Love and the others, they fought tooth and nail, right till the bitter end. But I was less than useless, a panicked mess. I should've died with them but Russo wouldn't--he wouldn't leave me--" Yona heard her choke back a sob and she brought an arm up to wipe at her eyes. They stopped at a door labeled 3036.

Yona reached a hand out to touch her shoulder.

"Grey--"

" _ Don't. _ " The girl slapped her hand away, "I've had enough pity to last a lifetime."

Yona flinched but dropped her hand to her side, "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"You asked," she hissed and looked up at Yona with shining eyes, " I requested to be transferred to the Wall. It wasn't against any rules, and my Doctor got it approved on trauma claim. I'm still technically an Explorer, but if anyone asks I'm a Guard, now. I'd appreciate it if you kept this to yourself. Anyways," she gestured to the door, "We're here."

Yona turned to look at the plain grey door. The bronze numbers shone dully. She hadn't realized it before, but they were tucked in at the far end of a wide hallway with windows overlooking the city. They seemed to be alone for now.

"Oh. We are," she said. Suddenly she was at a loss for words.

Grey spoke quickly, "We are. Look, I don't wanna drag this out," she leaned back on one leg and absently rubbed at her arm. Her eyes were dry now, "But you seem alright. You're different from the other Conduits. From Russo. And I'm not sure if that's a good thing but I guess you're alright in my book. That's why I told you all that 'n all," her expression turned dark, "Somethin's happenin' out there, in the Primordial Forest. MPs are getting smarter. The others might not believe me and Russo, but you've gotta, Smith."

Something pulled at Yona's chest at her words and she nodded.

"I believe you," she said. Yona held back a smile when Grey seemed to melt with relief at her words.

"Good. You should be aware of those things, ya know? I'm sorry for how I was actin' before. And yesterday. I know I can be kind've an ass, and I haven't felt. Right lately and. It's been," The redhead struggled with her words. Yona could tell by the crease in her brow she was frustrated.

"You're fine, Grey." Yona said quickly. She offered her hand once more, but this time in a handshake, "Thanks for driving me around today. And being honest with me." She smiled.

Grey blinked at the offered hand like it was an alien appendage and Yona wondered briefly if she'd accidentally formed claws again. But the Guard took her hand after a moment and shook firmly.

"Allysa."

Yona smiled wider, "Thanks, Allysa. You can call me Yona."

"Let me give you my number. In case you have any questions or get lost in Inner Atlas or somethin'." She smiled then, an honest-to-God  _ smile _ . It was small, but it launched Yona to cloud nine. Allysa released her grip on Yona's hand and slid her wrist forward to press against Yona's. Their wrist chips beeped as they swapped IDs and Allysa pulled back.

"You seem like the type to get lost easy." She teased.

"Not as easily as you'd think," she shot back.

"Let's hope. I've got to get goin' now," she jerked a thumb over her shoulder to point at the sky through the window. The sun had finally begun to climb in earnest, "Gotta get back to the Wall. Shoot me a message if ya need." 

Yona nodded. The redhead gave a joking salute before turning to make her way back where they came from. Yona watched the girl until she disappeared around the far corner. Then she turned to face the door. Beyond it was her own personal dwelling, her new home--opening this door would be taking one step into this new position she found herself in. 

She wasn't sure if she was ready for that yet.

_ Oh well. Not like there's any other choice. _

Yona held her wrist out to the scanner mounted just next to the door. It beeped briefly and the door slid upwards to allow her entry.

  
  
  
  


Two things happened when Yona stepped into her dwelling. 

First, a disembodied voice chimed from all around her. Second, the notification app in her chip went wild. Yona scrambled to open it while the female voice spoke overhead.

"Welcome, Conduit  YONA SMITH  to dwelling number  3036 . I am your Automated Dwelling Assistant, or Ada. Every dwelling in the Palace comes equipped with their own Ada unit to make your life here as comfortable as possible. I function as a voice-activated assistant with far-reaching capabilities, from making calls, to keeping your schedule, and even directly manipulating aspects of your dwelling to make you feel at home. Please, do not hesitate to utilize me, for I am at your beck and call."

"Ah, thanks, Ada. I'll keep that in mind." She felt incredibly silly talking back to the apartment, but at the same time Yona thought it'd be rude not to answer back. Between this and the voice in her head, she feared that speaking to no one outloud was going to become the norm. At least nobody was around to hear it.

Turning her attention back to her notifications, Yona quickly read over the message:

YONA SMITH, REPORT TO YOUR PERSONAL DWELLING CPU.

Yona closed the holographic message. For the first time she looked out into the dark apartment. Her fingers felt for a switch on the wall but came up short.

"Uh. Ada?"

"Yes,  YONA SMITH ?"

"Where is the light switch?"

"Setting light intensity to 100%."

At once the room was flooded with light, illuminating the space before her. She blinked at the sudden change in light, then in surprise at the sheer size of the living room. It was huge; easily the size of her dad's flooring plan and furnished with a large, black L-shaped leather couch. Two arm chairs also filled the space, along with a coffee table, large fluffy rug and various plastic plants. 

Stepping further into the room she noticed a marble counter set to the right that turned into a small kitchen attached to the larger living room. To the left was a small hallway with two doors. She would explore that later. For now she walked deeper into the large living-room-slash-kitchen towards the floor-to-ceiling windows that lined the wall opposite to the entrance. Weird. She could have sworn her room was facing inwards--

Yona reached out to touch the glass and recoiled when the image of Atlas went fuzzy.

"This dwelling is equipped with artificial viewing technology for your pleasure," Ada's computerized voice buzzed, "I am programmed with over one-thousand different locations for display, including footage of planet Earth before the Rift event."

Yona perked up at this.

"Really? Could you show me something of Atlas from…" she paused to think. Her mind picked through several memories of names from history class, "Stone...hill? No, Stone Mountain. That's it," she said, name clicking into place. She remembered learning about Atlas pre-Rift, and that the state it existed in had a monument carved into granite that rose a quarter mile into the sky. Not many people appreciated history, but it had been one of her favorite classes.

"Accessing footage of  STONE MOUNTAIN.” The view of Atlas flicked to the foot of a large mound of granite, a green sloping hill ending abruptly at a blue pool of water. Reaching high into the sky curved the old mountain, tall and sturdy so wide that it disappeared on either side of the monitor. It was impossibly big, bigger than even the Palace.

"Can I see from the top of the mountain?" Yona asked, giddy. The screen flicked and came back into focus, this time settling on a cratered landscape. In this image the sun was just peaking over the horizon, painting the sky pink and gold. A haze of fog danced on the edges of the sky, and in the distance Yona could see the skyline of what would later become Atlas. She squealed. 

"This one, I like this one Ada."

"Very well,  YONA SMITH."  Yona looked at the image a bit longer before returning to the task at hand. She still had to check her computer. Turning away from the artificial windows, Yona finally noticed the massive CPU set in the wall across from the couch. It was wider than she was tall. Was all this really necessary for one person?

She closed the distance between herself and the computer quickly, pressing her wrist up to the device so that it blinked to life. 'Welcome, Yona Smith' passed across the enormous screen. Without prompt her chip beeped, then projected a small holographic interface. Yona looked at it, then back at the screen. 

"More fancy things," she muttered to herself.

It appeared to be a navigation hud complete with a small keyboard and several options to choose from. They read in large letters 'message board' and 'assignments' just like the smaller CPU at her dad's house, only there was an extra option that read 'memory banks'. Under 'message board' were several notifications, and Yona decided to look at that first.

A quick series of messages popped up on CPU's screen, responding to the input from her implant. She read them in order from top to bottom:

(1)FROM: THE OFFICES OF SEVENS LIZZA HEARTWELL(NOW)

CONDUIT YONA SMITH,

ENJOY TODAY OFF.

(2)FROM: ALEXANDER PATEL(5 MINUTES AGO)

GREETINGS YONA SMITH,

I HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF YOUR ENROLLMENT AT AUE AND WOULD LIKE TO FORMALLY CONGRATULATE YOU ON YOUR RECENT PROMOTION. I WILL BE YOUR HOMEROOM TEACHER. CLASSES BEGIN AT 8 AM TOMORROW IN ROOM 325. BELOW YOU WILL FIND YOUR SCHEDULE ATTACHED. 

WELCOME TO AUE

doc.YSschedule

(3)FROM: THE OFFICES OF LIZZA HEARTWELL(5 MINUTES AGO)

CONDUIT YONA SMITH,

YOU HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED A TUTUR TO AID IN YOUR STUDIES. IT WOULD BENEFIT YOU TO CONTACT YOUR TUTOR BEFORE STUDIES BEGIN TOMORROW. ID#XXX-XXXXX-XX.

"Ada, are you synced to my wrist implant?" She called out into the empty room.

"I am." The voice chimed immediately.

"Neat. Upload doc.YSschedule to my implant, and add that ID to my contact please."

"Right away  MISS SMITH. " Sure enough, her interphase beeped with the notification that her schedule and contacts had been updated. Yona exited from the interphase and turned the computer off.

She pivoted, making her way to the couch where she fell heavily onto the leather surface. It was cozy and she sighed as she sank down on its cushions. Yona tapped once more on her wrist and a display of the time showed that it was only 10 o'clock, not even four hours since she crawled out of bed. Her dad and Dee would definitely be at work at the Wall by now, too busy to answer any messages she might send. Instead, she sent them both the ID of her new apartment's CPU so that they could get in touch at her home if they needed to later. 

With a heavy sigh Yona dropped her arm to dangle off the couch. The apartment was quiet. She had nowhere to be today. There, on the luxurious couch in the privacy of this strange new home, the last thread holding her together snapped. 

And she cried.


	9. Chapter 8

It was some time later when she woke up. It took her a few moments to register where she was, and that she had fallen asleep in the first place. Right. Her new apartment. Yona pushed herself up from the leather couch, stiff and ruffled. She worked on smoothing back her hair with one hand while she opened activated the time app with on the other. The numbers hovered in front of her, displaying 2:08 on the hologram. Still not a good time to contact her loved ones. Once her hair was as flat as she could make it without a comb, she pushed off the couch and reached her arms towards the ceiling in a light stretch.

“Ada, do I have any recent messages?”

“You do not.”

“Guess Sevens Heartwell wasn’t lying when she said I had the day off, hm?” she muttered, “I should probably message my tutor, though.”

**Who is. Stupid human girl. Talking to?**

“Definitely not you,” she shot back, not caring to keep the thought to herself. They were alone, after all. Who was going to judge her, the apartment? Yona’s lips turned down in a frown. It was frightening how quickly she was getting used to talking to herself.

Stepping lightly, Yona made her way around the couch and over to the small hallway with the two doors. Upon investigation, she learned that the door closest to the living room housed a small guest bathroom, while the one at the end led to the bedroom. She balked at the king-sized mattress and soft fleece sheets, but nearly fell over at the walk-in closet and personal bathroom. The bathtub alone was the size of her old bed. She had to sit down after that one. This place was wild.

From her bed Yona summoned up her contact list and selected ‘dial’ when she hovered over the new number. It was more out of curiosity than anything. Yona didn’t expect whoever was on the other end to pick up, that she would have to message them instead. She was surprised when the device began to project a fuzzy image of the recipient. It took a few seconds for the image to resolve; Yona squinted at the blurry form of whoever was on the other end. All at once her curiosity turned to undisguised displeasure.

_ “Heya there, cutie! I know I said I’d be seeing you again but getting my personal ID? Didn’t think you were the type to abuse your power. Can’t say I’m disappointed, though.” _

__ “You again?” Yona sneered at the figure now in full resolution. Luca’s longer white hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, but his bangs still fell over into his bright orange eyes. The man was smiling, unsurprisingly, and it made Yona want to punch his pretty white teeth in. Some part of her brain noted that he wasn’t wearing a shirt, but she ignored it.

_ “Me again. Don’t you know the people who’s IDs you swipe, cutie? Bet you got my schedule, too, so you could catch me during my workout.” _

__ Hot anger bubbled up in her throat. She hated the fact that she could feel her cheeks flushing red with frustration.

“I didn’t  _ force _ your ID from anyone, Russo. You’re the last person I wanted to be at the end of this call."

Yona saw the moment realization clicked into place in his head, and his eyes lit up like Christmas lights.

_"You're the fresh meat_ _they assigned to me--"_

"--I'm a  _ student _ \--"

_ "--Ohh, cutie, we are gonna have so much fun."  _

"I'm  _ not  _ here to have fun. I will have no fun. Especially not with you. Andstopcallingmethatyouknowwhatmynameis," she hurried before he could retort. On the hologram his eyes squinted with amusement.

_ "We'll see about that. And I'll call you Smith when you call me Luca,"  _ his smile turned down in a mock pout,  _ "I don't let just  _ anyone  _ call me that, you know."  _

Yona made a frustrated noise in her throat. She was determined to stay on track.

"I only called you because I figured it would be a good idea to find out what it is we should do regarding tutor sessions outside of class--"

_ "--Tutoring? Is that what they're calling it?"  _ Russo was smiling again. He barked a deep laugh and mimed wiping a tear from his eye.

"Please don't interrupt me," she said, grinding her teeth.

_ "You need to get that pretty little head of yours out of your ass. Did you seriously think for one second that AUE gives a damn about  _ tutoring  _ you?" _

Yona felt her face burn hotter. "W-well, what else would we be doing if not studying?" She flinched when his laugh cut through again, crackling over the transmission.

_ "Oh my God you  _ did.  _ That's--oh cutie, this is great. This is so great. Okay, okay. Allow me to enlighten you. You're a Conduit now: We don't exist to  _ think.  _ We exist to  _ kill.  _ The only thing the Seven want from you is to prolong their precious little lives, and we do just that. I'm not your tutor, Smith,"  _ his voice dropped to a low growl and his smile turned lazy, eyes alive with something feral that made the hair on Yona's arms stand on end,  _ "I'm your warden. And you're not leaving my prison until I've ripped everything out of you that makes you human." _

He was doing this on purpose. Just like before with the Wastrels, he was trying to scare her into submission, and it wasn't going to work. Steeling herself, Yona set her jaw and squared back her shoulders. From beneath her skin she felt the MP ripple across her face, and she only hoped the effect projected well enough through the transmission.

"You must not be too good of a warden, if you let a couple of MPs get the drop on you and had to be pulled back to babysit a newborn."

On the hologram Luca's smile slipped away into a snarl. A flash of grey rippled across his face.

_ "How do you know about--" _

"Goodbye, Russo. See you tomorrow." She ended the call. Yona sat upright on her bed and pressed a hand to her throat, willing her heartbeat to slow. A few minutes passed before her heart stopped its throttling of her chest, coming down from an adrenaline high.

_ I really shouldn't have said that. _

**No. You should not have. But stupid man. Was. How you say. A jackass.**

Yona laughed so hard that she snorted.

  
  
  
  


Three o’clock was rapidly approaching when her stomach alerted her to the fact that she hadn’t eaten since the night before. Her mind went back to the large refrigerator out in the living room and she padded into the hallway in a hurry.

When a quick investigation of the kitchen revealed nothing, Yona left her roomy apartment to scope out the Palace for some kind of cafe. She could find a market to stock her fridge later. For now, she wanted something that she wouldn’t have to cook for herself. 

No one wanted to give directions to the strange woman in Laborer garb wandering the immense building. Eventually Yona ran into a janitor Laborer who was able to point her in the right direction and she gorged herself on the delicious foods offered at the cafeteria on the second floor. It turned out that Conduits had an unlimited amount of rations. Yona wandered why Conduits would ever spend their credits on food when they had such an amazing spread available to them just beneath their dwellings.

Some people, upset that a Laborer was eating among them, approached Yona and demanded that she leave. A quick confirmation of her new ID sent them scurrying away and muttering apologies. 

_ Remind me to check the closet for Conduit garb, yea?  _ The MP responded with a rumbling kind of noise that conveyed vague acknowledgement. She had her knife poised to carve another chunk of steak from her filet mignon when her chip alerted her to a notification. A flick of her wrist opened the app and a blue message displayed in front of her.

(1)FROM:DEE(NOW)

HEY! SO YOU MADE IT OUT OF YOUR MEETING ALIVE HUH? AND YOU GOT YOUR OWN PLACE :O WHAT SECTOR ARE YOU IN I DONT RECOGNIZE THE AREA CODE

A smile played on Yona’s lips as she typed back her response:

  
  


YOU AREN’T GOING TO BELIEVE ME


	10. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to shout a big thank you for everyone who decided to give this story a chance <3 Enter the Rift is what got me back into creative writing, and it means so much to me that people took time out of their day to give it a read.
> 
> This is an extremely rough draft. When I eventually continue the story I plan on going back and tweaking/changing story points, conversations, errors and the like (I want to publish this as a YA someday), so any and all feedback is hugely appreciated ^u^ 
> 
> This is, sadly, the last chapter I had written. I would say that Chapter 9 is about 1/3rd through the way of what I have planned for this book. I stopped working on EtR around the time WAFD really took off. But it's not over! Far from it. I have a lot in store for Yona and the city of Atlas, and it's my hope that some of y'all will return to it when I start writing again.
> 
> Anyways, here's the last chapter (for now). Thank you for reading! Enjoy~

The sun was still well-hidden by the skyline when Yona stepped outside the next morning. At this time of day the Palace was already a hub of commuting citizens, though not the usual crows of Laborers that Yona was used to. Instead, walking down the grand steps from the Palace’s entrance, she was surrounded by white-coats and extravagant suites and dresses. Admittedly, she was surprised to see so many higher-ups up at this time of day (Seven AM). While she jogged down the sweeping steps, she realized that no, that made sense, seeing as residents of the Palace would likely have important jobs that needed tending to at most hours of the day. These were some of the more “important” people in Atlas, after all. 

Once at the bottom of the stairs she activated her wrist implant to take another look at the route. Though she’d heard plenty about the prestigious school growing up -- who _hadn’t_? -- it rested further North of Atlas than most Wall Laborers on the South Side ever needed to travel. 

Yona did a once-over of the directions, mumbling which streets she needed to turn what direction at. The map said AUE was a thirty-minute walk from the Palace. She closed the app. That should be plenty of time only…

Only…

Yona stopped in her tracks at the foot of the stairs. Normally she’d be mindful of people around her, but ever since she’d stepped out of her room wearing her new Conduit-designated uniform it was like she'd morphed into some kind of people-repellant. It was dark-grey, bordering on black, and clung to her skin tightly, almost molding to her skin. Honestly she thought it was _way_ to0 revealing. She missed her loose-fitting jumpsuit. But the effect it had on others was almost immediate. 

When she walked down the long hallway to the main elevators, people gave her a wide girth, and when she actually made it to the doors the crowd of people waiting their turn parted easily. Now, stopped at the bottom of the stairs, people flowed around her like rushing water round a boulder. If anyone early-morning commuters were frustrated at the break in foot traffic, they didn’t say.

She was nervous. More than nervous, really -- Yona was terrified. What in the world had she gotten herself into? Macrophages, Conduits, the Seven...it was all too much. And at her age! No one _started_ University at 21, it was unheard of. She would be so behind in all of her classes, and probably older than anyone there, even if they were a graduating class. Not to mention the fact that they were all trained fighters and defenders: and here she was, a Laborer in Conduit’s clothes. Amidst the stream of conscious thought her MP buzzed a brief warning. 

A hard blow to the side of her shoulder knocked her from her thoughts. Yona yelped and pinwheeled her arms to catch herself as she fell forward, barely finding her balance.

“Watch where you’re going.” An irritated voice said. Shrugging her backpack into place, Yona looked up just in time to see the back of a blond head making its way away from her. It took her a few moments to realize that the crowd of people also parted around them, and then she noticed the sleek black of a unitard obscured by a red backpack.

_I forgot that other Conduits live here, too…_

“But I wasn’t...you were the one walking,” she said, mostly to herself. Yona shook her head. Oh well. That’s what she got for stopping. Guess there was no dwelling on it. Fingers clenching the straps of her bag tightly, Yona started on her way.

The great green park that encompassed the Palace stretched out into a sprawling circle that curved along with the main highway she and Alyssa drove in on the day before. The walkway leading up to the Palace’s entrance branched out into several paths that lead out into the park, with the main one wrapping around to the parking deck. Yona followed the path on her GPS that took her through a tunnel that passed underneath the highway and opened up into the city.

She walked briskly. Though she knew that no one would bother her in her uniform, it felt weird to walk without her best friend chattering at her side. Most people she passed walked as far away as they could without stepping out into traffic. She could _feel_ their stares on her back as she walked, and she wondered if it was really so strange for a Conduit to walk freely around Atlas. Did they not _walk_ to their destinations like so many other citizens? Or was it the fact that she was alone? Did Conduits travel in packs?

_Or is it this stupid skin-tight suit?_

Yona hugged herself then and picked up the pace. Ten more minutes. Ten more minutes and she’d be in class. 

AUE appeared as if from thin air. One moment she was walking down a city block, and the next she was standing in front of a building not unlike the Palace in its sheer size. The university was, surprisingly, made from brick, and stood six stories tall. Its expanse took up the entire block. Yona wondered just how far back it stretched. Across the top of the entrance read "ATLAS UNIVERSITY OF EXCELLENCE" in bronze lettering. Already students were filing in; most wearing everyday garb, some wearing the white coats of doctors and scientists in training, and others wearing black jumpsuits that she'd never seen before, but the ones that stood out most were others like her. Other Conduits.

It wasn't hard to find them. Wherever there was a large break in the steady flow of people, Yona could pick out a unitard-clad person like herself. That, and her body seemed weirdly attuned to their location. 

She stood on the street opposite to the building for some time, watching students file in until the steady stream of foot traffic turned into more of a trickle. When her implant pinged to notify her that she had ten minutes until class started she jumped. 

Her palms were sweaty. She wiped them across her legs. Alright. No more time to waste. She just. She just needed to go in --

Her implant pinged again, this time with a notification. Ah! A message, she should answer that.

**Stop stalling. Stupid human.**

"I am not stalling, I don't know what you're talking about," she mumbled, opening up the message app. She felt a small smile tug at her lips. It was from Dee, and it looked like a picture was attached. She opened it with a gesture.

A large picture filled the space on the hologram in front of her. It was of her and Dad. They were both in their Laborer jumpers and Dee had her arm slung around her dad's shoulder while the other stretched out to take the photo. Dad looked a bit of a mess, honestly, but she was sure she knew why; his only daughter had been spirited away to the Atlas elite, afterall. But despite his disheveled hair and the bags under his eyes he was smiling brightly into the camera. Dee's tongue poked out the corner of her mouth and one eye was captured in a wink. From the background it looked like they were outside the train station. 

Just beneath the photo was a message.

MORNIN YONA! LOOK WHO'S WORKING WITH ME ON SECTION C TODAY? 

Tears threatened to spill past her eyelids but she willed them back. 

"Great timing, Dee," she laughed to herself. Yona went to close the app when another message popped up, this one from her dad.

HEY TEDDY BEAR. I HOPE YOU'RE HAVING A GOOD MORNING. I KNOW YOU'RE GONNA DO GREAT. LOVE YOU.

Yona stared at the message for a few seconds before she realized she was crying. A small chill running down her cheek brought it to her attention and she wiped the tears away quickly. 

She blinked a few times to get them under control. 

Closing the app, she looked back up at the great brick building. By now the sun was reflecting in its tallest windows, though the lower half of the building remained in shadow. Looking up at it now, she realized, the building wasn't so big. The Wall was huge, and the Palace far bigger than even that. She could do this.

"You can do this,” she said, breathing life to her thoughts.

Resolve solidified in her chest, and she stepped out into the crosswalk.

Yona made it to her first class with two minutes to spare. Her feet carried her up the stairs to the third floor and she found her room quickly, but for some reason her hand paused on the door. From outside the room she could hear voices and indistinct chatter. Young voices. Light and cheerful, like Dee's or Alyssa's when she joked. These were young adults her age, not the Seven. She took one last moment to tug at the sleeves of her leotard, lamenting how snug it made her feel, before pushing open the door and stepping into the class.

All at once the chatter stopped.

Yona paused and looked out into the room. It was small, but had sweeping windows (the higher-ups _really_ seemed to like their big widows) and three rows of seats that lined the back half of the room at an incline. At least fifteen other people sat at various places around the room. None of them, she noted, were wearing the black Conduit unitard. 

Yona looked out into the classroom and dozens of eyes looked back. 

"I, um," she said, throat suddenly dry, "Is this. Teacher Patel's room?" A horrible silence followed her words and threatened to swallow her whole. For a brief moment she considered back tracking, letting the door slam closed behind her and running back to her apartment and pretending she never got Patel's message-- _What? Classes started_ today? _I thought you meant next week --_ but then a boy sitting in the second row spoke up.

"You've got the right place," he said. 

Yona swallowed hard, willing her heart to slow down.

"Thanks." After that, one voice hesitantly started talking, and then another joined in, followed by yet another. Just like that, the class was buzzing with the din of conversation, and Yona slunk past the Teacher's desk along the wall to reach the back of the room. No one seemed to have taken any of the seats there, so she climbed the shallow steps to the back row of desks and took the middle seat. 

Yona slipped her bookbag off her shoulders and tucked it between her feet. She'd found it in her new closet along with her many unitards all packed and ready to go. She opened her wrist app to look at the time: 8:03, and the Teacher had yet to enter the class room. Closing the app, she looked out over the classroom. Most of her new classmates seemed to have more or less already written her off; however, she caught a pair or two of eyes staring back at her from their own seats. They quickly looked away. Sighing, she brought her chin to rest in the cheek of her hand.

_Well. I made it to class, at least._

She looked half-heartedly out at the class in front of her, then realized that the boy who'd answered her was sitting in the seat just below her. He had dark hair and was wearing one of those black jumpsuits -- she wondered what uniform that was for? Quite a few of the students she saw in the hallways wore them. In fact.

She gave the classroom another once-over.

 _All_ of her classmates were wearing the same black jumpsuit. Yona ticked off in her head the list of uniforms she knew: blue jumpsuits for Laborers, grey for Guards, brown for Teachers, green for Farmers. Doctors and Scientists wore their coats, and no one here was a Wastrel for sure...Were they all?...

"Excuse me," she tried. The boy in front of her jerked violently in his seat, along with the three others he was talking to. He twisted around in his seat to look up at her with a strained look on his face. The others around him were suddenly very interested in their bookbags.

"...Yes?"

"I'm sorry to ask, but. Well, I haven't seen your uniforms before. Are you all Explorers?" 

The boy looked at her like she'd grown a second head, the constipated look on his face replaced completely with one of confusion. His three friends were now _also_ staring at her with the same look. Yona felt heat rising to her face. Had she said something wrong? Had she offended them? She opened her mouth to apologize--

"You _are_ a Conduit, right?" He said. Her mouth snapped shut, then opened again. It was her turn to be confused.

"I...am? Yes. Why?"

Just then the door swung open, and a tall, brown-skinned man wearing a Teacher's uniform strode in. The boy, who now looked like he was doing his best to stifle a laugh, swung forward in his seat to face the front. Everyone else who wasn't followed suit.

The man, who Yona guessed was Alexander Patel, rooted around in a satchel slung over his shoulder while he spoke:

"May the Seven Thrive. My apologies for getting here late, everyone. I was at a briefing with a Head Teacher.” He clicked his tongue when he found what he was looking for and came up with a small, clear disc. Yona tilted her head; she hadn’t seen one of those in a while. 

“ We’re receiving a new Conduit today and they need a modified schedule to accommodate a specific circumstance. I’m sure she’ll show up soon,” he said, securing the disk over his wrist implant. It was a magnifying lens; only Teachers really carried them around. It was a way for them to project larger images from their personal implants to lecture to the class. Teacher Patel fiddled with the device, making sure it was fasted correctly, before finally looking up. 

“Oh. You’re here.” 

Yona felt the need to make herself look small as possible when some fifteen-pairs of eyes turned on her. Instead of sinking beneath her seat she offered a small wave.

“Hello.” At her greeting, several classmates visibly flinched like she’d struck them. Her eyes went wide and she lowered her hand. A nervous smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. What had she done wrong?

Down at the podium the teacher coughed into his free hand. 

“Yona Smith. It’s wonderful to have you in our class,” his words had almost a musical quality to them. Yona wondered if English wasn’t his first language, as rare as that was nowadays, “We are honored to have been gifted with the presence of another promising Conduit. If it would behoove you, I’d like to speak with you after class. Now. I’d like to pick up where we left off last class with literature...” the hologram that projected from his implant expanded upward and out into a large projection for the class to view, and just like that, the day began.

Yona sat at her seat, still a little overwhelmed, before realizing she should probably be taking notes. She unzipped the bag at her feet to retrieve a tablet and stylus and wrote absently. Several thoughts raced through her mind.

If it... _behooved_ her? Who used words like “behooved”? This wasn’t literature class. Wait no, it was. He’d literally _just_ said that. But still, it bothered her that his way of speaking turned so chillingly cordial when he spoke to her compared to how he’d talked before realizing she was in the class. And speaking of that, Patel mentioned that the class was receiving “another Conduit”. Implying that there was more than just her. But were there?

She gazed out across the class one last time and confirmed that, no, she was the only one wearing the black skin-tight uniform. Her Teacher has seemed surprised that she was already in class. Was she not supposed to be here yet? His message the day before said to be here at eight o’clock, though. 

She chewed her lip while her wrist worked to scribble notes on the tablet. Maybe she could make sense of this when she spoke to the Teacher after class. Her confusion only worsened when more people started to trickle into the class. Thirty minutes into the lecture the first one strolled in wearing her same uniform. Her attention jerked to the door moments before he entered.

He was short and stocky, with tan skin and buzz cut. As soon as he stepped through the door the buzz of anxiety from her MP grew slightly stronger, only growing more distracting as he strolled to the back of the room and slid into the seat a few spots down from her. He looked at her curiously, and she waved. He arched an eyebrow and threw his feet up on the table before opening an app on his implant. 

_Huh. Rude._

Over the next few minutes three more Conduits found their way in the class to the back of the room. Her MP’s anxiety mounted with each student that took a seat around her until it became too much to pay attention to Patel at the front of the room. She seemed to be the only one to take notice.

The Teacher kept up his lecture at the front, never pausing even when one of the newcomers walked straight through his projection and caused the image to waver. The other students seemed determined to ignore the Conduits filing in. Meanwhile, Yona was struggling to breathe.

 **Danger. Danger.** **_Danger._ **The MP seemed to thrash against the confounds of her mind.

_Calm down, we’re fine I promise--_

**DANGER D ANGE R D A N G ER DAN**

“Hey,” a voice hissed.

Yona blinked and the tablet clattered onto the tabletop in front of her. Her hand was curled tightly around the stylus, which was crushed in her trembling fist. Suddenly she was aware of the fluttering in her chest and the sweat on her brown. Slowly, she uncurled her fingers and placed the warped stylus down. Yona turned her head to look at who’d spoken.

Next to her was a dark-skinned woman with bright blue eyes. Her face read ‘annoyed but vaguely amused’, and she noted that her dreads were dyed blonde and pulled back with a hair tie. A spark of recognition flickered at the edge of her mind and she latched onto it like an anchor. Who was this girl? She’d seen her hair before, and recently.

“I saw you,” she whispered back, “I saw you at the Palace.” Some part of her acknowledged that the room had gone quiet around her, but she couldn’t focus enough to care. 

“You’re that girl who was holdin’ up traffic.”

“Yea. Yea that was me,” at that moment the haze of fear she’d been wading through evaporated, replaced with indignation, “You nearly knocked me over!” Her voice was more sure now, and Yona looked at the girl with clarity.

“There ya go, freshie.” The girl smiled all lopsided and pat her on the head.

“D-don’t. Don’t _pet me,_ ” she hissed, swatting away her hand. It was then she realized that sharp blue claws had replaced her neatly trimmed nails and she quickly retracted her hands.

“I am _so_ sorry! I didn’t cut you did...I…” Yona froze. Slowly, very slowly, she turned her neck to look out at the class. The class, for the third time that day, looked back. Only now their cool indifference was replaced with something primal, something tense. The boy who’d talked to her earlier looked ready to fly out of his seat at the drop of a pin.

Teacher Patel, to his credit, looked much less worried. He cleared his throat from the podium.

“Am I okay to continue, Miss Smith?”

Yona opened her mouth to speak but found that words refused to escape her chest.

“She’s fine, ‘teach,” the girl next to her called out, “Her parasite got a little freaked out, but she should be good.” She sounded bored.

From a few seats over, the shorter male who’d entered first scoffed, “The hell’s your problem? You need to get a hold of that MP of yours, it’s freaking so bad I’m surprised you didn’t piss yourself.”

“Miss Smith is a new Conduit, mister Chavez.”

This bit of information did two things:

The Conduits along the back row with her collectively jolted, and somehow the class’s collective gaze turns even _more_ scrutinizing. Several people (mostly those in her row) yelled out questions, and the Teacher did his best to reel back the sudden explosion of curiosity. But it was too late. Funny how a few words strung together could yield such a powerful reaction.

“How’s that possible?”

“She’s _our_ age!”

“This chick’s enrolled with the seniors?”

“Is it safe to have a newborn here?” This question is voiced by one the students not wearing Conduit garb, and it garnered a few ugly looks from the higher-class students. The girl who asked absolutely _withered_ in her seat.

“Now, now. Could we all relax?” Patel looked put-out from his spot at the front of the classroom. In a quick gesture he clicked the magnifying lens out of place and the lecture projected in the air dissipated. The man sighed and ran his now-free right hand through his hair.

“Miss Smith is here under unique circumstances, yes, but she is here under direct orders of the Seven, and is being trained by Conduit Russo. I’m sure the Seven in all of their wisdom wouldn’t allow Miss Smith to attend AUE if she was any kind of risk.” This seemed to quell most of the non-Conduits in the room; however, this only seemed to prompt an even deeper curiosity from her fellow Conduits. Yona wished for all the world that she could be dangling one-hundred feet down the Wall with the sky to her back -- anything was more preferable to the piercing gaze of other Conduis who were without a doubt _far_ deadlier than a fall from the wall.

“Now. I think that’s enough of your core lessons for today,” Patel said, replacing the magnifying lens in his satchel by the podium, “Before I dismiss you to fields, I have your team assignments to announce.” By the time the words left his mouth the class was abuzz with excited chatter once more. Thankfully, the announcement tore the attention of the other students off of her. She slumped back in her seat. The girl next to her kept a carefully guarded look, but even Yona could see that her hands splayed out on the desk here shaking.

Yona was confused. Team assignments? As in Explorer teams? So she was correct in the assumption that the black jumpsuits designated Explorers. Just the thought of going outside the Wall for a second almost sent her spiraling again -- suddenly the situation was very real. _Too_ real. Up until now, even standing in front of the Seven seemed almost like a lucid dream, and her swanky apartment and voice in her head some figment of an overactive imagination. But no, this wasn’t a dream. 

She was a Conduit about to be assigned to a team with years of experience on her in just about every way. She took deep breaths to steel herself and tuned back into Teacher Patel’s lilting speech:

 **“**...know that these assignments are not permanent, and are subject to change by the end of the year if you are observed to lag or over-achieve in your teams over the next three months. That being said, you are all expected to perform to the best of your ability and learn to cooperate with your assigned teams for the time being. A sense of comradery and trust are a must when facing the wilds of the Primordial Forest.” He paused to clear his throat, then fiddled with an app on his implant. A blue list projected in front of him, though from their seats it was hard to read the small, backwards print. 

“I’m going to announce your designated roles and teammates, but for Miss Yona’s sake I’ll also send out the information to your personal implants for reference. When I call your name, please stand up.”

Sure enough, several _pings_ went off in the room. People were already reading through the message when Patel started listing off names.

Yona scrolled through the message until she found her name in a cluster of others at the very end of the message. There she was.

  
  
  
  
  


TEAM O’HARE

SCOUT………ALBERT O’HARE

SUPPORT……….MAKAYLA GOODMAN

GATHERER……….SCOTTY KING

BACKLINE……….TERRANCE HALL

FRONTLINE……….MIRA BANKS, YONA SMITH

“What?! _Frontline??_ There’s no freakin’ way I’m gonna be led by a Reg.” 

Yona flinched when the shorter Conduit at the end of the row roared. The rest of the students (excluding the other Conduits) looked weary of the outburst. The girl next to her snorted and rolled her eyes.

“Mister Chavez,” Teacher Patel’s words took on an icy tone, “I will not accept that kind of language in this classroom. You can go ahead and leave, if you’d like.” His words were polite enough, but the chill that settled over the class said otherwise. The shorter Conduit -- Chavez -- snarled. Her mind didn’t have a chance to properly process what happened then.

One second Chavez was hunched forward over his desk, fingers gripping the edge of the table, and the next he was at the front of the class. The skin of his muscled arms and legs shimmered a dull green, and he gripped the podium by either side before ripping it from its bolted spot on the floor to send it flying into the nearby wall.

The short Conduit huffed deep breaths and glowered up the Teacher who, to his credit, didn’t appear the least bit phased.

“I didn’t work my _ass_ off for the past nine years just to work under a filthy normie, _profe.”_

“Mister Chavez,” Patel spoke carefully, “This kind of behavior is not encouraged by AUE. You may be higher than me outside of these walls, but _inside_ I have full authority over all of my students. Time and time again your rash tendencies and explosive behavior have reared their ugly heads, and it is for this precise reason why I did not have you placed in a position of leadership.

That being said, it is entirely possible for you to change your standing, provided you prove to me and your other Teachers that you are worthy of being called a Scout before the end of this school year.” Silence followed his words, thick and choking. 

For several tense seconds Chavez held his ground, fists clenched and shaking with fury. Finally, he turned away, muttering a sharp _tsk_ before storming out of the room. Yona released a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding and watched the other Conduit disappear out into the hallway.

After a moment calm returned to the classroom; Teacher Patel dusted his hands over his brown jumpsuit, looking from the hole in the floor where the podium used to be to the scuff in the wall where said offended object was pitched. With a resigned sigh, he tapped the implant on his wrist to look at the time.

“Well, I meant to give you all a chance to formally meet your teammates, but it seems we are out of time for core classes. I trust you’ll get around to catching up outside of class.” One of the Conduits that hadn’t yet spoken rolled his eyes. She thought she heard him mutter something along the lines of ‘yea, _sure.’_

“Anyways. Class dismissed. I’ll see you all back here for F ‘n F.”

The Conduits were already filing down the row by the time he finished speaking, and Yona scrambled to stuff her tablet and ruined stylus in her bag. By the time she’d had her bag zipped and slug over her shoulder, the last of the non-Conduits was walking out the door.

“Miss Smith.”

Yona squawked back ‘yes’ and made her way quickly to the front of the room. Her Teacher looked pretty put-out, and held a hand up to his temple as he spoke.

“I apologize for the stress you’ve experienced thus far. I assure you, actions like that don’t happen often.”

Yona squeezed at her book bag strap with her right hand, “Are Conduits like Chavez the reason why everyone seems to either ignore or run away from me?”

The older man’s eyebrows arched up in surprise quickly before settling back. He smiled kindly at her. The first normal gesture extended towards her today.

“I forget that this part of Atlas must be new to you. Yes, Miss Smith, I’m afraid so. Most Conduits have been put on an untouchable pedestal from the age of twelve, after all. Excuse my words, but many of you have developed a bit of a God-complex.” 

She wrinkled her nose at the notion.

“Teacher Patel, I come from a Laborer community. We all get treated like dirt by just about everyone. I don’t think I’ll have that issue.” His laugh took her by surprise.

“Yes, yes. I’m sure you won’t. You’ve already been much more polite than your fellows.”

_All I’ve literally done for this man is apologize and show up to class on time._

“Anyways. I wanted to speak with you to clue you in on what to expect in your schedule,” he started, and Yona snapped to attention. Sevens Heartwell had given her some small insight on just exactly how they’d make her short time here work, and she was hungry for more information. 

“I’ll be frank: core classes don’t really matter much for those on the Explorer track. In fact, Conduits are practically exempt from those classes, so you’re not expected to attend them and whatever grade you make doesn’t matter.” He said matter-of-factly.

Yona took a second to process. 

“So that’s why the others were late to class--then why did you say to arrive at eight in your message yesterday? And why have the classes at all if they mean so little?”

“AUE is a university first, Miss Smith. Students are highly encouraged to attend all classes, and those who do are rewarded. I’m so used to my Conduits skipping or arriving late to first class it didn’t cross my mind that you would actually show up on the dot. Other students in the Explorer course have to work to get where they are,” this sentiment sounded quite bitter. Yona frowned.

“Sir, it’s my first day here,” she pointed out. Really, did Conduits get away with so much? Was this the kind of mindset she had to look forward to with each new person she met? This was going to get old, quick.

“You’re quite right. Apologies for assuming your habits, Miss Smith.” An awkward lul followed, and Yona was quick to get them back on track.

“So my schedule?...” She tried. Her teacher cleared his throat.

“Yes. Right. You’re going to be quite busy for the next few months,” he said, pulling up another projection, “As I said, core classes are first thing in the morning. You’re not expected to attend--”

“--I will though--”

“-- But the rest of your classes are critical. They include field, flora and fauna, Conduit morphing, and parasite control. In addition to this, you are expected to work with an assigned tutor for at least three hours everyday. Most of what you’re getting is a crash course, so Russo will be there to fill the gaps in your education. You have contacted him like I suggested?”

The words from their last conversation rang in her ears:

_I'm not your tutor, Smith. I'm your warden. And you're not leaving my prison until I've ripped everything out of you that makes you human._

“I did, yes,” she said quickly, realizing she’d taken too long to respond, “So that’s all? Work hard at my critical classes, get a hold on my parasite -- learn how to be a good Conduit, basically.”

Her teacher closed the projection.

“That is the gist of it, yes.”

Yona frowned, considered her next words.

“Teacher Patel, my grades don’t really matter do they?” The implication of her words lingered heavily in the air, dragging down the conversation. They weighed heavy on her tongue. Was Russo right? Was she just a pawn in the Seven’s army? A dull knife poised above a grindstone waiting to be sharpened? She waited expectantly for his response.

The older man sighed heavily. He looked at her, not-quite apologetic, and answered:

“No. They do not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm closing the story for now, but once I start writing again I'll add more chapters. Thank you again!

**Author's Note:**

> There's quite a lot to unpack within the universe of Into the Rift, so I'll be leaving some bits and pieces about the world of Atlas every chapter! Here's some now:
> 
> Exploration Teams  
> -Exploration teams carry out missions outside of the city. Teams always have at least one conduit, preferably two. Their primary purpose is to eliminate MPs and collect samples of creatures and plants from the Parallel Earth to take back to the CDA (Center for Dimensional Analysis). They are also assigned as escorts for scavenge laborers and routes carved out of the primordial forest that run between outposts.
> 
> Regs  
> -Slang term for normal humans. Unable to become Conduits, but still incredibly useful in labor, farming, exploration, and science.
> 
> Conduits  
> -Humans that, for unknown reasons, are unable to be consumed by MPs. Instead of being assimilated, the MPs adhere to their skin. When not in use, conduits appear as normal humans. When activated, their take on the hue of the parasite MPs and have the ability to manipulate the MPs in their skin to shape weapons and armor. The conduit seems to be mentally linked to their parasite MPs via a neural connection at the base of the brainstem. The MPs provides a rapid healing factor, advanced speed and strength, and the ability to sense other lifeforms in a thirty-foot radius. Some conduits may develop unique abilities dependent on unknown factors. It is theorized that this unique symbiosis is possible due to a resistance developed in some genomes not present in the MP's original dimension. Conduits are rare, and bred with other Conduits in order to pass down the resistance gene--though the children are not always Conduits themselves.


End file.
